https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/17/24323220/delta-emulator-ios-apple-triple-price-patreon-membership

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Delta emulator triples Apple's prices to encourage external clicks

Delta emulator triples Apple's prices to encourage external clicks

/

Pricing starts at $3 per month through Patreon, or $10 for Apple's
In-App version.

By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries,
computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at
TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.

Dec 17, 2024, 7:06 PM UTC

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Artwork showing the Delta icon and the Apple App Store logo, with
screenshots from the emulator.
Image: Riley Testut

The Delta gaming emulator is now providing a link to sign up for
Patreon-exclusive membership perks directly within the iOS app in
Apple's US App Store. Developer Riley Testut is heavily encouraging
users to click that external link by tripling the price you'd
otherwise pay to Apple for In-App Purchase versions of those same
Patreon tiers. Testut calls it the "do not buy sale."

The update both embraces and protests the External Purchase Link
Entitlement that Apple introduced in January, which allows developers
to link to outside payment platforms in exchange for giving Apple a
slightly reduced 27 percent cut of sales. The App Store policy change
was made following rulings in the Epic vs Apple lawsuit that found
Apple had acted anticompetitively by preventing developers from
telling users about payment methods that bypassed its own payment
system.

A screenshot of the delta iOS gaming emulator settings showing the
Patreon connection options.A screenshot of the delta iOS gaming
emulator settings showing the Patreon connection options.
A screenshot of the delta iOS gaming emulator settings showing the
Patreon connection options.A screenshot of the delta iOS gaming
emulator settings showing the Patreon connection options.
Clicking this link within the Delta app settings will take you to the
Patreon page to sign up directly. Image: Delta

Testut says Delta is likely the first app to use the entitlement. The
$3, $5, and $10 monthly memberships on Patreon -- which provide
additional benefits like iPad and SEGA Genesis support, and private
Discord access depending on the subscription tier -- are listed in the
iOS app at $10, $15, and $30, respectively.

"We really don't want people to use in-app purchase," Testut told The
Verge. "We've been using Patreon for years, and it allows us to do
things Apple's IAP system can't -- such as issuing refunds and
handling customer support -- making it much more convenient for
creators like us."

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