According to TechSpot, Apple has announced new iOS policies in Japan for 2025, allowing developers to distribute apps outside the App Store and use alternative payment processors. This move is a direct response to legislation Japan passed last year. However, the new system comes with a complex fee structure: apps on the official store pay a 21% commission on in-app transactions, dropping to 10% after one year, plus a 5% processing fee. For transactions outside the App Store, the commission is 15% for the first year, and all apps distributed via third-party channels must pay a 5% “core technology fee.” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney immediately condemned the rules as anti-competitive, while a Japanese game producer stated the fees make leaving the App Store nonviable. The new regulations also affect web browsers, no longer forcing them to use Safari’s WebKit engine.
The EU playbook returns
Here’s the thing: this is basically Apple‘s European Union strategy on a different continent. The company is technically complying with the law, but it’s constructing a maze of fees and reporting requirements that seems designed to make the “freedom” economically unattractive. Look at that 5% core technology fee for any app distributed outside its store. That’s a pure margin hit for developers who were hoping to escape Apple’s 30% cut entirely. So they’re trading one fee for another, and it’s not even that much of a discount when you factor everything in. It’s a masterclass in regulatory ju-jitsu.
Why developers are stuck
And that’s why the reaction from folks like Tim Sweeney and the Japanese developer is so predictable, and honestly, justified. Apple’s argument will always be about security, privacy, and the value of its platform. But when the financial calculus ends up being a wash—or even worse—for a developer, what’s the real choice? You either stay in the walled garden with its known rules and massive audience, or you venture into a new, untested distribution channel… and still pay Apple. It’s not a real market alternative. It’s a controlled pressure release valve.
The bigger picture for app stores
This Japanese move, coupled with the EU’s Digital Markets Act and even that US court ruling on payments, shows the global pressure is mounting. But Apple’s consistent response is telling. They are not going to just open the gates. They’re going to monetize every possible inch of the escape route. The real question is: will regulators look at these fee structures and see them as good-faith compliance, or as a new form of the old problem? Given that Spotify and others made the same complaints in Europe, the trajectory seems clear. We’re headed for more legal battles, not less.
The silver lining? Maybe.
Now, the one genuinely interesting shift here is the browser engine rule. No longer forcing every browser on iOS to be a skin over Safari’s WebKit is a big deal. If browsers like Chrome or Firefox can finally use their own engines, we could see real innovation in mobile web apps. That, in the long run, might be the actual threat to the app store model—a web that’s powerful enough that you don’t need to go through a store at all. But that’s a years-long shift. For now, in Japan and elsewhere, the app store “freedom” comes with a very detailed invoice.
