TL;DR
What happened?
Apple updated EU App Store terms on June 26, 2025.
IAP commission is now 20% total. This is a 10% reduction from the old 30%.
Using alternative payments in-app is now permitted, but still triggers 20% commission fees to Apple.
There's no official word from the European Commission, but it appears they may be willing to accept Apple’s update, which would greatly undermine the Digital Markets Act.
What should I do about it?
Stay on IAP and bank the 10% savings (30% → 20%).
Grow DTC via a separate webshop with no explicit in-app links.
Promote webshop indirectly: point to daily streaks or loyalty programs that are adjacent to the webshop.
Promote webshop directly: drive traffic from off-app surfaces (Discord, email with consent, support, owned social).
The context
On June 26, 2025, Apple updated its App Store policies in the EU to further comply with the Digital Markets Act. These are by far the most complicated and convoluted guidelines from Apple yet. On July 22, 2025, Reuters reported the European Commission may accept Apple’s changes, but no formal EC decision has been published. If accepted, that would be a disappointing outcome for developers because the new terms still discourage alternative payments and protect Apple’s economics.
The good news
There is one silver lining: Apple decreased its commission on In-App Purchases from 30% down to 20%.
Making sense of latest App Store policies in the EU
Apple now allows apps distributed through the App Store in the EU to:
Show pricing and promote external purchase options
Include tappable links to external sites or payment flows
Use in-app web views or native experiences to present non-IAP options
But, steering to alternative payments will still trigger a 20% Apple fee for the majority of developers.
And crucially: You can’t mix Apple IAP and alternative payments.
Alternative payment fees
If a game developer chooses an alternative payment provider in the EU (StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement), the fees depend on the Store Services tier. Let's break it down.
Initial acquisition fee: 2%
Developers pay a 2% fee on alternative payments made within 6 months of a player’s first install.
Store services fee: 5% or 13% (basically 13%)
Tier 1 is 5%, but most games will choose Tier 2 at 13% because Tier 1 drops expedited app reviews, ratings/reviews, discovery/featuring, performance analytics, custom product pages, and many other crucial services. Here is a full breakdown of the store services by tier.
Core Technology Commission: 5%
Alternative checkout also requires paying Apple a 5% Core Technology Commission (CTC).
The all-in cost of alternative payments: 23%–27%
Including MoR + PSP fees (typically 3–7%), total effective cost is ~23–27%.
Commission | Rate | Fee term |
Initial acquisition fee | 2% | Within 6 months after the first install of your app. |
Store services fee (Tier 2) | 13% | Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall. |
Core Technology Commission | 5% | Within 12 months of the most recent install, update, or reinstall. |
Alternative payment provider fee (MoR + payment processing) | 3–7% | Every completed purchase |
Total effective cost (if purchase occurs within first 6 months) | 23%–27% | Within 6 months after the first install of your app |
Total effective cost (if purchase occurs after first 6 months) | 21%–25% | After 6 months from first install of your app |
How to proceed
If you operate in the EU, our recommendation is to agree to the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU, but don’t use alternative payments or in‑app steering under Apple’s current terms. Instead, bank the 10% margin improvement from Apple’s commission drop and continue the proven path many games already use: a separate, direct‑to‑consumer webshop.
Practical playbook
Keep IAP for in-app sales (20% all-in). Run a mobile-optimized external webshop for higher-value bundles, subscriptions, currency packs, and loyalty.
Promote adjacent value via in-game links. Point players to a Daily Streak or Loyalty Hub adjacent to the webshop to build awareness and habituation.
Use off-app surfaces (Discord, email, support, patch notes, owned social) for direct links.
Differentiate your webshop with meaningful perks: first‑purchase promos, loyalty multipliers, and added-value bonuses.
The new Apple EU terms are not compliant with the DMA
If the European Commission intends to enforce the DMA’s goals, user choice and contestability, it should not accept Apple’s updated terms.
Percentage‑of‑price “Store Services” fees (5%/13%) are charged on purchases made outside Apple’s payment rails. The scope of these services (discovery, trust & safety, billing tooling) does not scale with transaction volume, yet Apple taxes every external sale.
The Core Technology Commission (5%) is a blanket surcharge on external sales without transparent cost justification or demonstrable incremental value since the DMA took effect.
The no‑mixing rule (developers must choose IAP or external steering per app × storefront × platform) reduces user choice and raises switching costs, deterring competitive payment experimentation.
The “actionable link” trigger that adds a 2% acquisition fee if a player converts within 6 months of install penalizes truthful price communication and hurts pro‑competitive steering.
Self‑preferencing and tying concerns remain: access to full discovery and merchandising benefits is effectively tied to paying the higher Tier 2 rate or staying on Apple’s IAP, entrenching Apple’s economic position.
Bottom line
Apple’s EU “compliance” still unfairly restricts alternative payments, while the headline win is the 30% to 20% IAP drop. If you want a pragmatic plan that protects margin and grows DTC the right way, we’re happy to help.
Have questions or want a quick teardown of your DTC monetization flow? Reach out via the contact form at the bottom of this page and the Neon team will get back to you.
