In recent weeks, Apple has relaxed its control over the App Store and allowed several retro game emulators to run on iOS ahead of the release of iOS 18. Now, however, the company appears to have put its foot down and is specifically drawing the line at allowing you to run PC emulators on your devices.
As reported by The Verge, at least two PC emulator developers have seen their apps rejected from the App Store. Those applications are iDOS 3, which emulates the DOS operating system, and UTM SE, which allows you to run Windows on iOS.
Apple told iDOS 3 developer Chaoji Li: “The app provides emulator functionality but does not specifically emulate a retro game console. Only retro game console emulators are appropriate according to the 4.7” guideline. This refers to section 4.7 of the official App Store guidelines, which states that “retro game console emulator applications may offer the ability to download games.”
As for UTM SE, the developer posted on useful to execute. “
So while Apple is now happy to welcome retro gaming emulators on iPhones and iPads (we've now seen emulators for everything from Nintendo 3DS games to PS1), it's stubbornly drawing the line on PC emulators, and that's turning out to be a bit controversial.
A lack of coherence
Developers have complained about Apple's confusing and seemingly fickle App Store review process for many years, and the latest rejections are unlikely to alleviate those concerns. For example, while section 4.7 of the App Store rules states that retro game emulators are allowed, Apple has never clarified what exactly is considered “retro.”
“When I asked them what changes I should make to comply with the rules, they had no idea, nor did I ask them what a retro game console is,” iDOS 3 developer Li said on his blog. “It's still the same old, unreasonable 'we know it when we see it' response.”
It could be argued that DOS and early versions of Windows are actually retro console systems, as they originated in the 1980s and 1990s and have been home to several now-classic games. However, Apple evidently feels that they cross an invisible and indeterminate line that is not explicitly mentioned in the App Store guidelines.
Even though Apple allowed retro game emulators (and somewhat clarified the rules surrounding them) earlier this year, it seems the policy isn't as clear as it could be. As Li said in an email to The Verge, “In short, as the sole creator and enforcer of rules in [the] iOS ecosystem, they don't need to be consistent at all.”
