In an email labeled “App Improvement Notice,” Apple has warned certain developers that programs that haven’t been “updated in a significant amount of time” will be removed from the App Store.
According to The Verge, developers have used social media to express their displeasure with this new policy, which could have a negative impact on small businesses.
The following is an example of an email that Protopop Games, a Twitter user, shared with the rest of the world.
App Store improvement Notice
This app has not been updated in a significant amount of time and is scheduled to be removed from sale in 30 days. No action in required for the app to remain available to users who have already download 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 removed from sale.
Developer Emilia Lazer-Walker has shown that forcing developers to adopt Apple’s latest APIs every so often is generating quite a stir, even if the argument can be made that this will lead to better user experiences on newer devices. Some of her former apps were removed from the App Store:
Games can exist as completed objects. These free projects aren’t suitable for updates or a live service model, they’re finished artworks from years ago.
When the App Store Improvements page was last updated or how often an app must be updated to stay on the App Store, The Verge says Apple is “implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer work as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated.”
The App Store has been the target of antitrust accusations from both the government and developers over the past few years.
Most people know about Epic vs. Apple and the Netherlands fining Apple more than $50 million because of a dating app issue.
Apple has yet to comment on this move, and we’ll update the story if we hear back from the company in the near future.
I feel sick. Apple just sent me an email saying they're removing my free game Motivoto because its more than 2 years old.
It's part of their App improvement system.
This is not cool. Console games from 2000 are still available for sale.
This is an unfair barrier to indie devs. pic.twitter.com/7XNcLfiEcR
— Protopop Games (@protopop) April 23, 2022
