Court ruling breaks Apple Inc.'s "commission wall", mobile gaming companies will recapture $195 billion in revenue in the future.

Notice that mobile game developers may potentially gain billions of dollars in additional revenue this year by escaping the constraints of Apple Inc.'s app store rules due to a court ruling. According to data from the top 25 mobile game publishers in 2024 estimated by industry analyst Joost van Dreunen's Aldora Intelligence, $4.1 billion in revenue is expected to shift from Apple Inc. to developers. This means that the huge amount of money spent annually on in-game virtual currency and items will now flow more into the pockets of mobile game creators. With the reduction in online sales commissions, developers will earn more revenue As a result of the ruling in the long-running dispute between "Fortnite" developer Epic Games and Apple Inc., U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers last month ordered the iPhone manufacturer to allow developers to sell goods outside of the Apple Inc. store. The Apple Inc. store charges 15% to 30% commission on most transactions. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said that developers may receive up to $19.5 billion in additional revenue in the coming years, money that would have otherwise gone to the app store. Gaming companies may use this funding to attract new players, who may spend more on in-game items and digital products that help the game progress. Pachter stated, "These developers will earn more, as Apple Inc. will earn less, that's just how it goes." Some developers have already begun offering incentives to guide players to make purchases outside of Apple Inc. In 2020, Apple Inc. removed the popular game "Fortnite" from its store because Epic Games linked to a website offering discounted V-Bucks virtual currency. Market research firm AppsFlyer's Global Product Director Adam Smart said, "Apple Inc. has always had this concern: if you offer discounts for purchases made outside of the app store, they will take down your app." In its report on Wednesday, Aldora estimated that the percentage of commissions paid by mobile game developers to app stores will decrease by about one-third to around 20%. Apart from Epic Games and occasionally vocal Microsoft Corporation, mobile game developers have been unwilling to discuss the impact of commissions on their businesses. Top publishers such as Take-Two Interactive Software, Electronic Arts Inc., Roblox, Scopely, and Supercell under TENCENT have all declined to comment on the court ruling. Microsoft Corporation, which owns the King mobile gaming business, announced its plans to open its own store last July, but the plan has been postponed. In court documents, Microsoft Corporation stated that the company has been "hindered by Apple Inc." Take-Two (TTWO.US), which earned $730 million in revenue last quarter from its mobile business, has created web stores for popular games like "Empires & Puzzles" and "Zynga Poker." The company's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, told analysts during a recent earnings call that their direct-to-consumer store "has become an important and substantial part of our business." He added that the recent ruling reflects a more open trend in the app distribution ecosystem - "a positive signal for us." Like other mobile game publishers, Zynga went through a downturn in the early 21st century. After Apple Inc. implemented changes to its privacy policy in 2021, it became more difficult for mobile game developers to find app audiences, leading to a 7% overall decline in industry revenue. The ruling will not only benefit app developers. Payment management companies like Xsolla and Stash have established web stores for mobile game companies, charging significantly lower commissions than app stores. Xsolla has created a calculator on its website, allowing developers to calculate the additional revenue they will receive based on the percentage of business transferred from Apple Inc. to their payment system (which charges a 5% fee). Co-founder of Stash, Justin Kan, stated, "This is a competitive industry for acquiring the same customers," "If there's a way to significantly change profitability, you can't ignore it."