The past year or so has led to a lot of discussion around the app marketplace space with the legal battle between Epic Games, the publisher and developer behind Fortnite, and Apple, following a change to the game that allowed users to purchase the in-game currency v-bucks without being subject to the 30% tax that is present from both Apple and Google. The end of the legal battle brought the news that Apple in particular will have to remove the 30% tax from in-app purchases, and in line with changing legislation for the latest gambling laws across the US it could lead to further change – but what may users see in the future?
(Image from variety.com)
This could lead to fewer paid titles emerging – Whilst most mobile games are free with the cost coming at premium or subscription-based services, this change could allow for more developers to look at free options as profits will only increase with the tax being removed – an additional 30% on each sale is a substantial amount and certainly something that will be considered by many developers moving forward looking to find even further success and a bigger audience.
More games of chance may emerge on marketplaces – For most games of chance, particularly online casinos, it has been difficult to find further representation directly through app marketplaces with such a high tax on the in-app purchases leading to most operators sticking to online sites directly as a priority – this change could mean that many more services look to emerge through apps, and as there are currently no restrictions to prevent these games from being present on the marketplaces, they may grow in popularity very quickly.
Further changes could yet be made to marketplaces – Whilst the changes were expected to come immediately, that doesn’t mean that future changes won’t come in time – there’s still some grey area in the changes that were requested where both apple and Google may look to make future changes too. Other changes had saw the costs come down to just 15% for apps that don’t fall under the banner to have the 30% removed completely, which is still a huge number for most, but still quite a ways from the more open access that had been hoped for from many before.
It’s certainly an exciting time for app developers either way, opportunities to earn more with a lower cost and deliver the extra to the users where possible may change the way many users approach these apps, and what may also be available to these audiences too.
