AltStore PAL, the open source app designed to distribute apps from independent developers in the EU, is now free thanks to a grant from Fortnite Developer Epic Games.

altstore pal eu
The alternative iOS App Store had charged an annual subscription of €1.50 plus tax to cover Apple’s Core Technology Fee (CTF). Apple’s terms for alternative app marketplaces require developers to pay the CTF for each annual app install.

However, AltStore Pal will no longer pass on the cost of that fee after the third-party store received a “MegaGrant” from ‌Epic Games‌. AltStore said existing subscribers will not be charged on the renewal date and that the AltStore team plans to “show our appreciation for our existing subscribers in a future update,” but did not go into detail.

Developer Riley Testut has been working on AltStore PAL since Apple announced plans to support alternative app marketplaces in iOS 17.4. It’s open to all apps, but Testut says it makes the most sense for “smaller, independent apps that otherwise couldn’t exist due to the rules of the ‌App Store‌.”

AltStore PAL comes with a Patreon integration that allows developers to monetize their apps. Developers can offer their apps to their customers only, and this distribution method also allows a cap of under one million subscribers for an app’s usage.

iPhone users in the European Union can download AltStore PAL from the AltStore website. Alternative app marketplaces are not available outside the European Union.

Epic has submitted the ‌Epic Games‌ Store to Apple for notarization, in accordance with Apple’s policy for alternative app marketplaces in the European Union. The ‌‌Epic Games‌‌ Store will include: Fortnitewhich means iPhone users in the EU will be able to install and play the title without having to use a cloud gaming service. An iPad version of Fortnite is expected to follow later this year.

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