Apple Clarifies the App Store Rules for PC Emulators

Apple has updated its guidelines for developers to confirm that PC emulator apps are now permitted to download games. The updated section 4.7 of the App Review Guidelines acknowledges that "retro game console and PC emulator apps can offer to download games."

Apple recently accepted UTM SE for iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS into its App Store. The app offers a collection of pre-built virtual machines that can run Windows, Linux, or old versions of macOS. The updated policy paves the way for other PC emulators that offer the option to download classic software and games. That's a significant departure from how things used to work, where Apple would allow retro console emulators to download games as separate binaries, but not PC emulator apps, on the grounds that "a PC is not a console."

Apple has long rejected emulator apps but changed its mind after realizing that regulatory scrutiny of its business practices around the world won't die down unless it changes its ways. Section 4.7 also explicitly permits iOS apps to offer additional downloadable software not included in the main binary. The rule explicitly allows such apps to offer HTML5-based "mini apps and mini games," as well as "streaming games, chatbots, and plugins."

This is a great example of how regulatory pressure can benefit customers and restrain corporations. If you asked Apple, the App Store would still be devoid of emulators and cloud gaming services, but the company had to loosen its platform rules in repsonse to European Union legislation. In the case of these categories, Apple ended up allowing them everywhere, and not just in the EU as legally required.

The new rule only allows apps that emulate retro consoles and PC systems to import game ROMs downloaded from the web. Bundling game ROMs with emulators or even linking users to them is strictly prohibited for legal reasons. While emulator apps are legal, downloading ROMs for games you do not own is a gray area, so keep that in mind.

Apple has made a number of changes to the App Store business model to appease European regulators. Developers in the European Union can now distribute their apps outside the ‌App using Web Distribution, but they still need to follow some rules to be notarized by Apple.

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