Epic Games: Apple Scared Users Away From Rival App Stores
▼ Summary
– The Epic Games Store has seen increased iOS downloads after Apple simplified third-party app marketplace installations due to the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
– Installation success rates improved significantly, with drop-off rates falling from 65% to 25% after iOS 18.6 reduced the process from 15 to 6 steps.
– Apple removed confusing scare screens and dead-ends in the installation flow, making iOS user experience comparable to Windows and Mac systems.
– Epic claims Apple still violates DMA rules through anticompetitive behavior that discourages developers from distributing games on iOS compared to Android.
– Google’s Android installation process also faces criticism for its 12-step deceptive interface that fails over half of Epic Games Store install attempts.
Recent data from Epic Games reveals a significant surge in downloads for its Epic Games Store, directly linked to Apple’s compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. The installation process for third-party app marketplaces on iOS has been dramatically simplified, leading to a sharp decline in user drop-off rates. According to the company’s latest blog post, the failure rate for installing the Epic Games Store on iOS devices plummeted from 65 percent to approximately 25 percent after the rollout of iOS 18.6 in July.
This improvement stems from an “updated user experience” that Apple implemented following concerns raised by the EU Commission. Regulators had previously criticized the tech giant for making it excessively difficult and confusing for consumers to install applications from alternative distribution channels. Epic Games highlighted that the cumbersome procedure, which once involved 15 separate steps, has now been cut down to just six. The revised flow removes a notorious scare screen that displayed misleading warnings and eliminates a frustrating dead-end that left users trapped within the iOS Settings menu.
For the first time, the success rate for iOS users installing the Epic Games Store is approaching the levels seen among Windows users and even those on Apple’s own macOS platform. This marks a pivotal shift in the mobile app ecosystem within the EU. The data indicates that when the installation barriers are lowered, users are far more willing to explore and adopt competing app stores.
However, the path forward is not entirely smooth. Epic Games continues to voice strong objections, alleging that Apple’s ongoing anticompetitive conduct still breaches the DMA’s regulations. The company asserts that these persistent hurdles are discouraging developers from distributing their games through the Epic Games Store on iOS, resulting in a noticeably smaller catalog compared to what is available on Android.
The situation on Google’s Android platform also drew criticism. Epic pointed to Google’s own 12-step installation process, describing its interface as deceptive. The company claims this design actively sabotages installation attempts for the Epic Games Store on Android, leading to a failure rate exceeding 50 percent. This stands in stark contrast to the consistent installation success rate the store enjoys on other platforms, underscoring the unique challenges posed by mobile operating system gatekeepers.
(Source: The Verge)
