Epic Games Setting Up Webshops for iOS Developers to Offer Users Out-of-App Purchases

Thursday May 1, 2025 9:29 am PDT by Juli Clover

Epic Games today announced plans for ‌Epic Games‌ Store Webshops, a feature that will allow developers to launch digital storefronts that are hosted by the ‌Epic Games‌ Store. With Apple's mandated App Store rule changes in the United States, developers will soon be able to direct customers to web shops to make out-of-app purchases, bypassing the in-app purchase flow.

epic games store
The ‌Epic Games‌ Store will charge developers a 0 percent fee for the first $1,000,000 in revenue they collect per app per year, and after that, developers will need to pay Epic a 12 percent cut. The fees are applicable to all payments that are processed by the ‌Epic Games‌ Store. ‌Epic Games‌ also says that players that spend in Epic Webshops will be able to accrue 5 percent Epic Rewards on all purchases.

Many smaller games do not exceed $1 million in revenue per year, so the ‌Epic Games‌ Store Webshop could be a viable option for small and independent developers. Developers that earn more will likely want to set up their own payment options using online payment platforms like Stripe or Shopify for even lower fees.

Epic's announcement follows a ruling yesterday that will see Apple forced to make major updates to its U.S. App Store policies as part of an ongoing ‌App Store‌ dispute with ‌Epic Games‌. Apple cannot prevent developers from directing customers to better deals outside of the ‌App Store‌, nor can the company collect fees for these purchases, among other changes.

Apple was ordered to comply with the order immediately, and the court said that it "will not tolerate further delays." Apple said that it plans to implement the changes as ordered, though it will appeal the decision.

Tags: App Store, Epic Games, Epic Games vs. Apple Guide

Top Rated Comments

IceCool

12 months ago

So I can finally force Target and Walmart to sell my product on their shelves and not have to pay them anything? Awesome!!

Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Mikep976

12 months ago

This is about as stupid as forcing Walmart to sell Heinz ketchup but allow customers to pay through the Heinz website. Throw their **** on the shelf just for them to get around you getting paid for it.

It’s literally nothing though, that analogy oversimplifies and misrepresents the situation. Apple isn’t a physical retailer like Walmart—it’s a platform provider, more akin to a landlord renting digital space. Developers aren’t asking Apple to list their products for free while sending customers elsewhere to pay—they’re asking for the option to point users to an external checkout, especially when Apple takes up to 30% of revenue on in-app purchases.

A better analogy would be if a mall landlord required every store to give them a 30% cut of every sale made anywhere, even if the customer just found the product at the store and later bought it directly from the brand’s website. That’s not about fairness—it’s monopolistic behavior.

This ruling is about giving developers more freedom, encouraging competition, and giving consumers more choice. Apple still benefits from hosting the app on the App Store, but it shouldn’t control how every dollar flows after that.

Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)

windywalks

12 months ago

It’s literally nothing though, that analogy oversimplifies and misrepresents the situation. Apple isn’t a physical retailer like Walmart—it’s a platform provider, more akin to a landlord renting digital space. Developers aren’t asking Apple to list their products for free while sending customers elsewhere to pay—they’re asking for the option to point users to an external checkout, especially when Apple takes up to 30% of revenue on in-app purchases.

A better analogy would be if a mall landlord required every store to give them a 30% cut of every sale made anywhere, even if the customer just found the product at the store and later bought it directly from the brand’s website. That’s not about fairness—it’s monopolistic behavior.

This ruling is about giving developers more freedom, encouraging competition, and giving consumers more choice. Apple still benefits from hosting the app on the App Store, but it shouldn’t control how every dollar flows after that.

You're cherry picking arguments here.
What about providing bandwidth, curation and safety? Should Apple provide those for free as well?
What you wrote sums up Sweeney's agenda without any counterpoint.

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

cocky jeremy

12 months ago

This is about as stupid as forcing Walmart to sell Heinz ketchup but allow customers to pay through the Heinz website. Throw their **** on the shelf just for them to get around you getting paid for it.

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)