Apple updated its App Review Guidelines this month to allow "retro game console emulator apps" on the App Store for the iPhone and other devices. Below, we outline everything to know about these emulators and available options so far. This information is up to date as of April 2024, but Apple's policies could change over time. What is Allowed Apple told us that emulators that can load games (ROMs) are permitted on the App Store, so long as the apps are emulating "retro console games"...
Despite Apple's recent rule change, it has been a bumpy few days for emulators on the App Store as small developers fear the wrath of Nintendo and others. Nintendo may be waiting in the shadows to smash any emulator out of existence Software emulation has been around for decades and is perfectly legal, at least the technology is. The implementation of emulators, business models, and how users obtain games live in this unchallenged legal gray area that developers are scared to test. ...
Over the weekend, the first handheld console game emulator hit the App Store, following a relaxation in App Store Review Guidelines the week prior. Fast forward 24 hours and the app is gone, pulled from the App Store. However, we aren’t sure why. It might be that ROM-loading emulators are actually not allowed, and this one slipped through. Or, it may be that iGBA was simply a clone of the open-source project GBA4iOS, and was pushed to the store without permission or appropriate licensing. ...
Apple, in its latest update to its App Store developer guidelines for iPhones and iPads, flagged by 9to5Mac, says it will allow game console emulators – and even downloadable games. Apple warns developers, however, they “are responsible for all such software offered in [their] app, including ensuring that such software complies with these Guidelines and all applicable laws.” So don’t expect to play Super Mario, Spyro, or a third game series that starts with an 'S'. Meanwhile, we have a guide to...
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of the App Store, but is now sanctioned by Apple. Delta is an all-in-one emulator that supports game...
Apple says the app was banned because it was a knockoff, and the developer of the original app is more upset with the company than the copycat developer.
Earlier this month, Apple revised its App Store Guidelines to permit game emulator apps for the first time. On Saturday, one of the first such apps was approved: iGBA. This app allowed users to import and play ROMs download from the internet. On Sunday, however, the app was pulled from the App Store without full explanation. Apple has now provided more clarity on why iGBA was removed from the App Store after initially being approved. more
After Apple changed its policy allowing gaming emulators from third party developers on the App Store, the first ones have started to show up.
Just over a week after Apple changed rules to allow game emulators on iPhone and iPad, the first have made their way into the App Store. Emulators arrive on iPhone Apple made a change to guideline 4.7 of the App Store Review Guidelines in early April, reversing a rule that effectively banned the submission of console and classic game emulators for iOS and iPadOS. The change, which specifically allows apps to run "software that is not embedded in the binary," with "retro game console...
A class action lawsuit against Apple over the App Store's 30% fee will go ahead, after a UK tribunal rejects the company's argument for dismissal. Store front at Apple Battersea, where Apple's UK headquarters is In July 2023, a suit was brought against Apple in the UK on behalf of 1,566 developers based in the country, saying Apple's 30% fee was excessive, and an abuse of its monopoly position. Then in January 2024, Apple filed a motion to have the tribunal dismiss the case entirely. ...
Could we see an influx of emulation apps on iOS soon?
Apple’s App Store has famously been a walled garden for a while now. The tight policies have only recently been changing mostly thanks to EU regulations. Though, even taha has been a bumpy process met with a lot of pushback from Cupertino. Thankfully, things seem to be looking up, and Apple’s most recent App Review Guidelines now offer a more relaxed attitude towards offering additional content from within apps. Notably, this includes retro game console emulators that, under the new rules, may...