Apple’s New EU Business Terms Lower Economic Barriers for Alternative App Stores, Says Onside.io CEO

Apple’s newly enforced business terms across the European Union have fundamentally altered the landscape for digital distribution on iOS, removing a major economic barrier that previously discouraged developers from testing alternative app stores. According to Alexander Baksheev, the co-founder and CEO of Onside.io, the policy shift marks a critical turning point for the mobile software industry under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

The regulatory evolution began when Apple’s new EU business terms, formally set out in Attachment 14 to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, officially came into force on October 1st. The most significant change for developers centers on the replacement of the controversial Core Technology Fee. Apple has officially scrapped the CTF in favor of a 5% Core Technology Commission applied to digital sales made through alternative app stores and web distribution methods.

This structural pivot arrives more than a year after the European Commission levied a €500 million fine against Apple, expressing widespread antitrust concerns that the original fee structure was deliberately designed to discourage and penalize alternative app distribution channels.

Under the previous model, software publishers and game studios effectively faced a heavy financial penalty simply for testing an alternative distribution channel. The old system imposed a charge of €0.50 for every first annual install above a threshold of one million. For larger publishers with substantial existing user bases, that policy created an open-ended, highly unpredictable financial liability, making it practically impossible to seriously consider adopting an alternative app store without risking immense overhead costs.

Baksheev emphasizes that the transition to a percentage-based commission represents a stark and meaningful departure from the past. A 5% commission on covered digital sales provides a far more workable and predictable commercial model for the industry. Rather than charging developers arbitrarily for reach, installs, and exploratory experimentation, the new commission aligns Apple’s financial interests directly with actual commercial activity. This adjustment gives publishers a much clearer analytical basis to assess whether alternative distribution can realistically work for their specific business models, effectively removing the most daunting economic hurdle that previously stood in the way.

How Alternative App Stores Work and Who is in the Market

The broader regulatory push stems from the Digital Markets Act, a landmark EU regulation specifically designed to increase fair competition in the digital app market. The legislation formally came into force in November 2002, and Apple alongside other designated gatekeepers was given until March 2024 to achieve full compliance. That deadline marked the historic moment when iPhone users residing within the European Union were first technically able to download applications from outside the traditional App Store ecosystem. International momentum followed swiftly thereafter, with Japan implementing similar regulatory changes on December 18th, 2025, and Brazil officially opening its own alternative mobile marketplace ecosystem on June 18th, 2026.

For everyday consumers, accessing these alternative platforms involves a straightforward process: users download an alternative app store directly from the operator’s official website. Once the marketplace is installed on the device, it functions in a manner largely familiar to users of Apple’s official App Store, allowing them to browse, search, and install various applications contained within the alternative catalog.

For software developers, however, the underlying mechanics shift significantly regarding who performs the distribution labor. While Apple handles the heavy lifting of distribution on its own App Store, that operational responsibility shifts entirely to the alternative store operator outside of it. Despite this shift in distribution responsibility, every single application must still successfully pass notarization. Apple defines notarization as an indispensable baseline security and content review that applies universally to all software, regardless of the distribution channel through which it reaches the end user.

Despite the regulatory doors opening, the market remains in its infancy two years after the initial rollout. Alternative app stores currently account for well under 1% of total iOS app distribution across the European Union. In response to this nascent environment, individual store operators have carved out distinct niches by appealing to specialized audiences.

The Epic Games Store concentrates primarily on delivering Epic’s proprietary titles alongside curated partner games. AltStore PAL caters heavily to tech-savvy advanced users looking for self-hosted applications, such as retro console emulators. Aptoide successfully brought its extensive Android software catalog over to the iOS ecosystem, while Skich approached game discovery through an innovative swipe-based interface. Meanwhile, Onside operates as a versatile, general-purpose marketplace where video games sit comfortably alongside a wide array of other software categories.

The competitive landscape has also seen early exits, highlighting the ongoing volatility of the market. MacPaw formally shuttered its Setapp Mobile marketplace in February 2026, pointing directly to Apple’s continually evolving and exceptionally complex business terms as a primary factor in the decision.

Why Game Studios Should Care

For game studios navigating an increasingly crowded and expensive mobile marketplace, alternative distribution channels present two distinct strategic levers that are well worth testing alongside the traditional App Store: a potentially more cost-effective pathway to user acquisition and a substantially lower platform commission rate.

The first major lever involves user acquisition efficiency. Thanks to the legal protections and operational frameworks established by the Digital Markets Act, game studios can now successfully convert cheaper web-based traffic into active iOS installations by routing users through an alternative app store, while maintaining robust attribution tracking capabilities. Onside, for instance, has engineered its own proprietary attribution platform capable of seamlessly transmitting critical conversion data directly to major digital advertising networks.

This technological integration means that studios can effectively optimize their external web marketing campaigns specifically for high-value mobile installs and subsequent in-app purchases. According to internal performance data compiled by Onside, the average cost to successfully acquire a user for the alternative store hovers around €2. Furthermore, for select game titles that already demonstrate strong organic performance on the traditional App Store, Onside routinely steps in to fully fund and manage user acquisition campaigns independently, operating on a collaborative revenue-share model.

The second crucial lever is the financial relief provided by lower commission rates. Apple famously charges a steep 26% commission on App Store in-app purchases within the European Union, whereas alternative app stores typically operate with significantly reduced margins. Onside charges developers a flat 12% commission across paid applications, in-app purchases, and recurring subscriptions, while comprehensively handling secure payment processing via standard credit cards and Apple Pay. Consequently, independent and major studios alike are able to retain a much larger share of the revenue generated by active players. Detailed operational insights regarding publishing workflows and payment structures are readily outlined in Onside’s official developer documentation.

Combined, these dual financial and operational levers possess the clear potential to dramatically improve a game’s core unit economics. For established intellectual properties and blockbuster titles, this translates into an opportunity to unlock profitable new distribution channels and engage untapped audiences. Simultaneously, these mechanisms could provide a vital lifeline for smaller or mid-tier games that historically struggle to survive on the official App Store, where the escalating cost of acquiring new users frequently outpaces the lifetime value those players generate.

The New Question for the Industry

While Apple’s newly revised EU business terms continue to impose substantial operational requirements and compliance hurdles on software creators, the recent adjustments have successfully eliminated one of the most prohibitive economic barriers to entry. Industry observers anticipate that these changes will embolden a significantly larger number of publishers to begin actively exploring alternative distribution strategies across the European landscape. It stands as a meaningful victory for the core intentions of the Digital Markets Act, pushing the mobile software market steadily closer to a commercial environment where developers can exercise genuine commercial choice.

At the same time, these updated terms invite a pressing new question for the immediate future of the ecosystem: will these lowered fees ultimately prove sufficient to propel alternative app stores out of their current sub-1% market share of total iOS app distribution? Teams across the industry, including leadership at Onside, are dedicating substantial resources and collaborating closely with partners throughout the games sector to answer that question in the affirmative. Ultimately, the willingness of game studios to test alternative distribution channels in the coming months will reveal just how rapidly the mobile app economy is evolving.