If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app.” Epic is suing for the right to sideload alternative app stores like the Epic Games Store onto iOS. Until mid-2016, it told game developers that “if you want to criticize a religion, write a book. The list includes, per Apple’s attorney, a game called Sisterly Lust that includes “a list of fetishes which include many words that are not appropriate for us to speak in federal courts.”Īpple is notoriously wary of sexual or even debatably offensive content in its App Store. It’s also, as we’ve previously described it at The Verge, “small and weird.” (Granted, it’s not quite as small as Epic seems to think CEO Tim Sweeney said it had “at least hundreds” of games, while the real number is upwards of 200,000.) Epic hasn’t reviewed all these games, and Apple noted that its standards are different from the Epic Games Store’s.
Itch.io is one of relatively few non-game apps on the Epic Games Store, along with software like the Brave browser. On the fifth day of court, however, Apple tried to turn Itch.io into a liability - by telling Epic Games Store general manager Steven Allison about “so-called adult games” that were “so offensive we cannot speak about them here.”
The Fortnite publisher was going to trial with the aim of making Apple offer competing app stores on its iPhone and iPad, so the move showed that Epic was willing to open up its own store in the same way. Apple trial, Epic Games made an interesting announcement: it would offer the indie game storefront Itch.io as an app on its own Epic Games Store. You can check out the itch.io app on the Epic Games Store starting today.Shortly before the Epic v. And now their work can gain exposure from millions of potential users on the EGS. Where else are you going to try Mike Tyson’s FORNITE: NES Edition, or games that can be played on a Game Boy Advance? Itchi.io allows creators to upload, set their own price, and build pages. Even though the Epic Games Store houses plenty of indie games already, itch.io is a place for experimentation and some unusual ideas that may or may not take off. Itch.io is a home to indie game developers, from novices to the more experienced alike. Having a separate storefront as an app may sound unusual, but it’s actually a pretty big deal. Why is itch.io on the Epic Games Store important? However, no percentage of sales on the itch.io app will go to Epic. Generally, Epic takes a small slice of the pie whenever a game is sold on its storefront. With the app separate from the Epic Games Store, sales won’t be affected. It installs on your PC, and getting started is as easy as creating a user name and browsing the library of thousands of indie games. After adding it to your Epic Games Store library, installation opens up the app separately.
Downloading the app is about the same as before, however. Spotify, iHeart, and itch.io certainly make for some interesting bedfellows. It fits snugly next to other apps that Epic has been adding to its service.
The itch.io app can be found on the Epic Games Store in its free section. However, it’s a bold step for itch.io and beneficial to the countless amount of independent developers.
Each store offers indie games to download and play, although itch.io is more exclusive on that front. It’s an unusual move, considering the two storefronts are technically competitors. Starting today, the app for the indie storefront itch.io can be downloaded directly off the Epic Games Store. We’re here with some admittedly strange, but overall good news.