Roblox launches 'Apple Tax' war: players receive an additional 25% platform currency deposit on the official website

Recently, in the antitrust case between Epic and Google, the judgment will be announced in October. Apple allowed Epic to list the Epic App Store and “Fortnite” on the Apple Store, igniting a new dispute between the developer and the platform that had been quiet for a while.

On the one hand, Google has appealed the antitrust case brought by Epic Games in a US district court and requested the federal court to overturn the ruling; on the other hand, the foreign Metaverse giant Roblox officially entered the fray between game developers and platform channels, announcing that players who deposit from the game’s official website or use gift cards will receive an additional 25% of the platform’s Virtual Money Robux.

From the perspective of the effect, it is obvious that Roblox’s move is to counter the commission policies of the two dominant channels, Apple and Google. Compared to the 30% channel tax directly taken by the platform, Roblox’s new policy is equivalent to a 20% discount for users. Therefore, under the condition of unchanged target deposit amount, the more users transfer from Google and Apple to the official website for deposit, the more profit Roblox will make.

“Apple and Google are important partners for us. We have been looking for ways to bring more value to our users and creator community while controlling costs. In the future, we will provide up to +25% Robux to any customer who purchases Robux through the internet, computer, or gift card.” Both the official response from the Roblox spokesperson and the announcement posted on their developer forum explicitly state that this policy is not a short-term promotion, but a long-term official benefit.

It is worth noting that this move by Roblox will undoubtedly stimulate the usage and consumption of Virtual Money within the app in the short term. However, for creators who also profit from third-party content creation on the Roblox platform, Roblox has not dropped their earnings from Robux split and withdrawal in the same proportion, to some extent increasing the latter’s earnings—although the platform still charges a high 70% commission on third-party content.

Under the announcement, players who have actually received benefits express their support for the policy, and some even worry whether this move will anger Apple. Some developers also commented that the new policy is great, and it would be even better if Roblox would increase revenue for some third-party developers.

As the “flag bearer” of the current game developers opposing the channel tax, Epic also expressed support for Roblox’s new promotional policy for the first time. Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, stated on social media platforms, “I’m glad to see Roblox finally starting to fight against Apple’s tax. I hope Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple can stop its absurd charging method, and all applications can allow users to deposit directly through the network and save expenses.”

According to the financial report for the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year released by Roblox, the quarterly revenue during the reporting period was $919 million, a rise of 29% compared to the same period last year, with a daily active user (DAU) count of over 88.9 million, a rise of 27% year-on-year.

Among them, North America and Europe, including the United States and Canada, are its main sources of revenue, accounting for 63.44% and 18.17% respectively. They are also the regions where the anti-monopoly waves against Apple and Google are most intense.

In August 2020, Epic sued Apple and Google, accusing them of obstructing competition from third-party app stores. In the Apple case, although Epic was ruled against, the judge also required modifications to the rules regarding the App Store. In the Google case, which was ruled in October this year, the court formally ordered Google to allow developers to establish app markets and provide other deposit methods for consumers besides Google’s own payment system.

Under the EU Digital Markets Act, the updated Apple iOS 17.4 system in March this year has reduced the maximum commission rate for EU developers from 30% to 17%. In recent years, the United States, Japan, and South Korea have also forced Apple to reduce commissions or open up third-party payment channels. However, in the Chinese market, Apple has not made any public adjustments to the relevant policies at present.

On November 19th, Apple’s official website in China rarel…

However, several interviewees also stated in interviews with 21st Century Business Herald reporters that the data in the report is worth discussing.

For example, as for the 95% of income that does not require the “Apple tax”, iOS ecosystem expert Deng Chun noticed that these incomes include all amounts from online express delivery, takeout, taxi hailing, online shopping, advertising, etc. “The offline consumption of these entities, originally Apple Store cannot take a percentage, the ‘Apple tax’ we are discussing has always been aimed at in-app purchases,” Deng Chun admitted.

At the end of May this year, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court issued a first-instance judgment on the first antitrust lawsuit filed by consumers against the “Apple Tax”. The court confirmed that Apple has a dominant market position in the Chinese software market, but dismissed the plaintiff Jin’s lawsuit request to stop Apple from charging a 30% “Apple Tax” and to stop the mandatory use of Apple Pay.

(Source: 21st Century Business Herald)

Source: East Money

Author: 21st Century Economic News