Apple plans to soon remove games and apps from the App Store that haven’t been updated recently if developers don’t submit an update for approval within 30 days. This news comes from screenshots and claims shared by various app developers and reporting by The Verge.
Here is the text of the email that went out to developers:
This app has not been updated for quite some time and is expected to be pulled from sale within 30 days. No action is required to keep the app available to users who have already downloaded the app.
You can keep this app available for new users to discover and download from the App Store by submitting an update for review within 30 days.
If no update is submitted within 30 days, the app will be pulled from sale.
It’s not clear whether this rule means users must keep the app on their devices to continue accessing it, or whether it will be available in the list of previously downloaded apps even if the app is no longer listed in the store .
It’s also unclear whether this is a newly enforced rule or just a particularly large wave of reports about it. Apple announced in 2016 that it plans to do something similar, but developers aren’t sure how often the rule will be enforced. And while that initial announcement seemed more focused on apps that didn’t support new iOS and iPhone or iPad features, some developers who received this recent email claim that their apps work perfectly on modern hardware and the current version of iOS.
The company has a developer support document titled “App Store Improvements” that provides more details about the move, though it doesn’t answer every question developers may have. The initiative moves forward “to make it easier for customers to find great apps that meet their needs,” Apple wrote.
The document clarifies that if developers submit an update after the 30-day period, their app may eventually be relisted. It also says apps will “remain fully functional for current users” and users will still be able to purchase in-app purchases and access online services within the apps.
Apple isn’t alone in plans to remove outdated apps to improve users’ search experience. Just a few weeks ago, Google announced similar plans. However, Google was a little more specific about its policies. In a blog post on April 6, Krish Vitaldevara of Google wrote:
Beginning November 1, 2022, existing apps that do not target an API level within two years of the last major Android release version will not be available for discovery or installation to new users with devices running Android OS versions higher than the target API of app level.
On the iOS side, indie game developers have taken to Twitter and other platforms to criticize Apple’s new effort to remove older apps. “Games can exist as completed objects,” wrote Emilia Lazer-Walker, whose years-old free games are aimed at removal. “These free projects are not fit for updates or a live service model, they are finished works of art from years ago.”
Other developers have suggested that the App Store should be more like the console game market, where you can still buy games from 2000 or have indicated that Apple is inconsistent with where it applies the rule.
Others approach the subject with a certain resignation. They recognize that Apple is solving a real user experience challenge, but doing so in a way that causes collateral damage for developers whose games and apps are too small to raise concern within the tech giant.
Some said they plan to update their apps to keep them on the list, but others said they should let the sun go down on their older passion projects.
