Estimated read time: 5 minutes, 9 seconds

Apple announced on Thursday, June 18 their compliance with a new competition regulation in Brazil. 

According to Apple’s announcement, they’re making changes to comply with a recent agreement with Brazil’s competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE). Per the announcement, “For their iOS apps distributed on the App Store in Brazil, developers will be able to include an alternative payment processing method in their app and/or link users to a website to complete a transaction.”

Here are some of the key changes as they apply to mobile app and mobile game publishers.

Some Key Points in Apple’s New iOS App Store Rules in Brazil

Linking Out (Steering) Is Being Recognized and Permitted by Apple

Apps (such as mobile games) are allowed to link to a website to complete a transaction. 

Linked direct-to-consumer (D2C) purchases have a 15% commission fee. 

As specified by Apple’s documentation specific to these changes, that fee is applicable for any purchases made within 7 days of a link tap. 

A response post from Epic Games regarding the Brazil App Store changes points out that a U.S. court has already found this to be illegal, implying that the 7-day attribution window is extreme and could be considered so by more countries and regulators as these situations continue to develop. 

In the meantime, there are some easy steps you can take to minimize your exposure to it. Once a player has visited your web store and the 7-day window has lapsed, here are some ways you can bring them back through channels that sit outside the attribution window entirely: 

  • Retargeting Ads: Retarget players who visited your web store but didn’t convert, or who converted once and are likely to spend again. 
  • Email and Push Marketing: Capture player emails at your web store checkout and build a direct marketing channel.
  • In-Game Messaging: Without including links, use your in-game inbox, push notifications, or event triggers to promote web store exclusive offers to your players. 
  • Removing Links via Player Segmentation: Once a player has made a purchase on your web store, consider removing the steering link for them. They know the store exists, so there’s no point paying Apple to send them there.  
  • Social and Discord Channels: Drive traffic directly to your web store from organic and paid social posts and Discord announcements. 

In-App Purchase Fees Drop Slightly, From 30% to 26%

The in-app purchase (IAP) fee drops from 30% to 26% (21% for the “App Store commission” + 5% for Apple payment processing). 

The App Store commission fee may be lower at 10% for members of Apple’s various business and partner programs and for subscriptions after their first year; refer to Apple’s announcement or documentation or more details. 

To put this in perspective, Apple has reduced its cut by 4% and is presenting this as a meaningful concession to developers. For a game studio generating $1M in revenue in Brazil, that’s only $40k back in their pocket. 

Conversely, with D2C, the math tells a different story. That same studio generating $1M through a web store that uses FastSpring as their MoR pays only a fraction of what they would pay to Apple. 

The changes in Brazil don’t make IAP a bad choice, but they continue to make the case for D2C much stronger. 

Key Takeaways From Apple’s Changes in Brazil for Mobile App Publishers

FastSpring’s Head of Gaming Chip Thurston points out the following key takeaways for what these changes mean for publishers of mobile apps and mobile games: 

The Fees Have Limited Scope

These changes mean that a game or app only incurs the fees on linked payments (within that 7-day period), and those fees shouldn’t apply for future purchases if those purchases occur via direct load, marketing, social media, etc. 

Effectively, if a player makes later purchases on your site due to your own direct marketing to them and not via a direct link out of your app, the 15% shouldn’t apply on those other purchases.

The Fees Introduce Certainty

With the implementation of fees, publishers can invest in D2C with more confidence that this will be the state for the foreseeable future. 

The Fees Legitimize Steering

In Brazil and many other countries, there has been a lingering uncertainty around how major platforms like Apple and Google might respond to publishers linking players directly from mobile games into web stores.

By implementing these rules and fees in Brazil, Apple is condoning steering (at least, in Brazil), giving publishers confidence that they can link directly into web stores without fear of repercussion for doing so. This reinforces the idea that steering is a payments mechanism that’s growing around the world, not diminishing.

What Do Apple’s Brazil Changes Mean for Mobile Game Publishers?

For game publishers and studios, Apple’s changes in Brazil mean steering players to a D2C web store is now officially permitted, commercially viable, and financially predictable. 

While the ruling is specific to iOS apps in Brazil, the signal it sends is global: Steering is here to stay. 

The question isn’t whether or not to build a web store anymore — it’s how quickly you can. 

Find out more about integrating FastSpring with your existing web store or game, or if you don’t have a web store yet, learn more about how to get a custom web shop.

About FastSpring

FastSpring is how gaming studios and mobile app makers sell in more places around the world. For over two decades, FastSpring has been a payment provider you can use to sell apps, games, or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your app with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great apps! 

Learn more about FastSpring for mobile apps or FastSpring for games.

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