Apple frequently displays its often arbitrary rules for developers who wish to post something on the App Store, but the recent iOS retro emulator battle is on a whole other level.
Apple is currently permitting the use of iOS emulators on the iPhone to create a mirrored retro gaming console experience, not solely due to pressure from the European Commission to open its closed ecosystem. Emulators are also allowed outside of the EU.
The most recent example is the Nintendo retro console emulator Delta, which allows you to play old games from popular console series such as Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS titles, as well as NES, SNES, or Nintendo 64 titles.
For iPhone users in Europe, it can be found as part of an alternative to Apple’s official App Store aptly named AltStore, but it is also available as a standalone emulator.
Some developers who created their own retro emulators have complained that Apple has arbitrarily banned their apps from its store. It appears that Apple’s policy on retro emulators, as outlined in section 4.7 of the App Review Guidelines, does not permit DOS PC and other Windows OS emulators such as iDOS3 or UTM SE.
The developer of iDOS 3 stated that it took Apple two months to reject their app and did not provide any guidance on how to make changes for approval, only a standard statement:
The app offers emulator functionality, but it does not specifically emulate a retro game console. Only emulators of retro game consoles are allowed according to guideline 4.7.
Apple, Chaoji Li iDOS 3 developer, June’24
Old games are still popular, but the rivalry between MS-DOS and other platforms continues from the days of the command prompt. The UTM SE developer was informed by the App Store Review Board that “PC is not a console,” despite its ability to emulate beloved old Windows/DOS games.
Even though a DOS PC or an outdated Windows operating system is not something that most iPhone owners desire, Apple may be compelled to take action if faced with numerous antitrust investigations, such as the one recently initiated by the European Commission for violations of its Digital Markets Act.
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