Apple has won European Union approval for a new App Store fee structure, potentially ending a yearslong fight with regulators over how much control the company can maintain over apps distributed outside its store.
But one of Apple’s most persistent critics isn’t ready to declare the matter settled. Epic Games says the new terms still violate the Digital Markets Act, arguing that Apple is effectively charging developers for using alternatives the European law was designed to make available.
Apple announced the revised terms Aug. 18 after months of discussions with the European Commission. The changes take effect Oct. 1 and replace several of the fees Apple introduced when it first opened the iPhone to outside app stores and payment systems in the EU.
The Commission said the agreement followed “a close dialogue” with Apple after regulators found the company in violation of the DMA in April 2025. It plans to monitor the implementation of the new rules.
Under the revised system, developers using another payment processor inside an App Store app will pay Apple 20% of the transaction. Sending customers to the web to pay carries a 15% fee.
Apps distributed outside the App Store face a different arrangement. Apple is eliminating its initial acquisition and store services fees and replacing them with a 5% Core Technology Commission on digital purchases.
Epic says that’s still too much. The Fortnite maker argues that the DMA requires Apple to allow developers to direct customers to third-party payment options without charging a fee.
It also says imposing a commission on purchases made through competing app stores undermines the law’s requirement that Apple permit the “effective use” of those stores.
“Apple’s terms deliberately violate the Digital Markets Act,” Epic said. It warned that accepting the arrangement and ending enforcement against Apple would make the law “meaningless.”
Epic has more at stake than most developers. The company operates the Epic Games Store on iPhones and iPads in Europe, putting purchases made through its store under Apple’s new 5% commission.
Were Epic to distribute through Apple’s App Store and direct customers elsewhere to pay, it would face the 15% rate instead. The company also doesn’t qualify for several reduced rates available to smaller developers and certain Apple partner programs.
The Commission’s approval gives Apple something it has been seeking since the DMA took effect: regulatory acceptance of a business model that still allows it to collect fees when developers bypass the App Store.
Epic’s objection now tests whether that compromise holds. The Commission hasn’t said that Apple can simply stop complying once the agreement takes effect. Regulators plan to keep watching the new system, leaving open the possibility of further action if its implementation falls short of the DMA.
