In a recent update to its App Store guidelines, Apple has introduced a new section dedicated to retro game emulation, allowing developers to distribute emulators through the platform. However, the Cupertino tech giant has set forth a series of prerequisites that must be met before an emulator can be made available on the App Store.
The updated App Review Guidelines, accessible on Apple’s Developer portal, outline the procedures for incorporating mini-apps, mini-games, streaming games, chatbots, plugins, and game emulators into the App Store. While the guidelines permit these retro gaming console emulator applications to facilitate game downloads within the app itself, they emphasize that all software provided in the app must adhere to the guidelines and pertinent copyright legislation.
However, the conditions outlined in the guidelines suggest that the new regulations may primarily benefit gaming publishing corporations rather than individual developers. For instance, companies like Sega could potentially offer an application on the store, enabling users to download and play a variety of emulated Sega retro games, given the company’s ownership of the intellectual properties and its legal capacity to distribute them.
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The announcement has raised questions about whether any developer can release an emulator or if such access will be limited to entities possessing rights to the games they intend to emulate on Apple devices. Nevertheless, these alterations to Apple’s App Store policy likely stem from the regulatory scrutiny it faced from the European Union and the United States.
The new guidelines also include other amendments, such as facilitating the redirection of users to external websites for music streaming applications, particularly in the EU.
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