We've eschewed any Valentine's theming this year, but Edwin put this in our news queue last night as a sort of dare for our evening shift, and let the record show I am less of a coward than Graham Smith. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, a visual novel Tarot-themed card game from perennial (perhaps perineal, in this case) favourites Deconstructeam, was praised by Edwin in his review, and I was going to use the same strapline for this news post had he not got there first. Because now, in time for the season of romance, they've teamed up with sex toy purveyors Uberrime to create a frankly prohibitively massive dildo as an official tie-in for the game, which can be won in a free competition by three lucky people living in either the UK, EU, US or Canada (as in, they each win their own dildo; they don't have to time share).
iOS 17.4 will allow sideloading & third party app stores in EU – Epic Game Store incoming
26.01.2024 - 18:01 / thesixthaxis.com / Ios / Will
Apple has announced that iOS and iPadOS 17.4 will introduce support for developer app sideloading and third party app stores in the EU, complying with the incoming Digital Markets Act (DMA). But there’s an awful lot of caveats to this, with the iPhone maker determined to keep as much control and make this as awkward, fussy, and costly as possible.
Epic has already confirmed that the Epic Game Store will arrive to distribute Fortnite, and AltStore is exploring if they can possibly launch as well.
When iOS 17.4 is released in March 2024, users in the EU will have access to new “alternative app marketplaces”. You’ll be able to download an approved marketplace from that company’s website and explicitly give it permission to download apps to your device. After that point you can make further downloads through those app stores, they will be in charge of providing updates and conducting app reviews, and you can even set a non-Apple store to be the default. They’re also allowing third party payment processing. All apps will still be approved by Apple in a way through a notarisation process similar to Gatekeeper on MacOS.
From the user perspective, that kind of sounds perfect, doesn’t it? Well, from a developer and app seller perspective this could be a massive pain.
A big part of the change is a new fee structure that Apple is putting in place for the EU. Instead of a flat 30% or 15% (for small business developers) cut, Apple will take a 17% or 10% cut respectively, regardless of whether an app came through the Apple App Store or another marketplace. Developers will optionally be able to use Apple’s payment systems for a further 3% on top of that. However, there will be an additional €0.50 Core Technology Fee for every first install of an app, per user, per year after the first 1 million installs.
Apple states that this will lead to developers making more money across the board, but the per-install fee means that there could be a massive upfront costit to a breakout app or game if the average monetisation per user is too low. An app making $10 million of 10 million installs would see Apple charge $6.2 million, but if that’s $10 million off 1 million installs? Well, then it’s around $1.3 million. Basically, Apple’s found a way to charge the likes of Meta, Google or Netflix when they launch free apps – the rush to download Twitter competitor Threads last year, for example.
New app marketplaces can’t just be thrown up overnight by anyone. Apple insist that they must be able to “guarantee support for developers and customers.” That means that there’s a technical burden of showing that they can provide human review, just like the App Store does, and have a letter of credit from a reputable financial institution to
PlayStation Store: January 2024’s top downloads
It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, PS VR, and free-to-play games topped the download charts last month. New release blockbusters and vintage fan favorites are included in January’s PS5 list with Tekken 8 and Grand Theft Auto V both breaking the top five. The PS VR2 list saw Beat Saber rock and roll to the top of the list with the most downloads in both US and EU regions.
Apple unveils major overhaul for iPhone users in EU - Sideloading, alternative app stores, and more
Apple is set to introduce substantial changes to its ecosystem in the European Union, scheduled to roll out by March 6. One of the notable modifications is to allow iPhone users to sideload apps from third-party stores, a departure from Steve Jobs' original stance due to security concerns. The shift is part of iOS 17.4, primarily targeting EU countries, and aims to enhance user flexibility while maintaining security standards.
EU hails 'change' as Apple App Store opens to competition
The European Union's digital enforcer celebrated on Friday the "change" underway in the tech world after Apple yielded to a new EU law by announcing it would allow alternative app stores on the iPhone for the first time.
Fortnite is coming back to iOS, but Epic Games still isn’t happy about it
Fortnite is set to come back to iOS in Europe sometime in 2024. This will mark the first time a natively running version of Fortnite will be available on iOS since Apple removed the game from the App Store in 2020.
Apple is finally letting developers release game streaming services on the App Store
Apple has announced some big changes for the App Store ecosystem, with the company permitting developers to release video game streaming apps at long last.
Fortnite Will Return To iOS "Later This Year", But Only In Europe
Fortnite will return to Apple devices in some regions "later this year", as new EU regulation combats Apple's ability to compel developers to use its app store. This follows more than three years of conflict between Apple and Epic Games, after the Fortnite developer was booted from iOS for setting up its own systems to avoid paying Apple's cut of each in-game purchase.
Fortnite will return to iOS this year in EU countries, Epic Games announces
Epic Games has promised the return of Fortnite this year on iOS, over three years since it was pulled from the Apple App Store, but only in select regions.
Safari Will No Longer Be The Default Browser After iOS 17.4 Update as Apple Opens Browsers For Third-Party Options
Apple recently released iOS 17.4 to developers for testing purposes. In accordance with our prior speculations, the company is rolling out App Store changes with its latest iOS 17.4 beta. The upcoming update will house all the required changes the EU imposed under the Digital Markets Act. Apple has until March 6 to comply with the necessary changes, and the latest beta confirms that iOS 17.4 will be the update that will change how users download and install apps on the iPhone. With iOS 17.4, Apple has also opened the browser category for third-party developers, which they can use as the default app.
Epic Games confirms Fortnite is coming back to iOS in Europe this year
Following Apple's announcement of enabling third-party app stores for iOS users in the European Union, Epic Games confirms that it'll be bringing Fortnite back to the iPhone and iPad in Europe later this year — by way of a new Epic mobile games store. This will mark the title's official return to Apple's platform since it was yanked back in August 2020, after Epic offered discounts to payments made directly to its own store, instead of Apple's App Store and Google Play which would take a 30-percent cut. iOS users have had to rely on Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now to play Fortnite, but this will soon be a thing of the past for those based in Europe.
Fortnite and the Epic Games Store are coming to iOS in Europe
Four years after leaving iOS, Fortnite is coming back — but only European players will be dropping in this time.
Fortnite is Coming to iOS This Year in Europe
Epic Games has announced that Fortnite will be coming back to iOS devices. Taking to social media platform X (formally Twitter), the studio revealed that Fortnite will be available on iOS through the Epic Games Store later this year. This will only be the case for iOS users in the EU, however.