The new Delta game emulator that’s taking advantage of Apple easing App Store rules has reached the No. 1 download ranking in 35 countries today, according to data from Appfigures sent to PocketGamer.biz.
Apple recently updated its App Review guidelines to allow retro console emulators to offer game downloads. The firm said companies offering such apps are responsible for all the software they contain and that they must comply with all applicable laws and privacy guidelines, amongst other rules.
Delta (the successor to GBA4iOS) was quick to launch on April 17th as the first high profile emulator, supporting game systems such as Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo DS.
The app includes console controller support, save and load states for any game, cheat codes and multiplayer support for the NES, SNES and N64.
Chart topper
On April 18th, Delta ranked as the No. 1 most downloaded App Store app in 13 countries including the US, UK, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan. It was in the top 10 in 35 countries, including Japan and South Korea.
At the time of writing, on April 19th the app had hit the top of the App Store download rankings in 35 countries including the UK, US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. It has so far reached the top 10 in 66 countries today.
Outside of the App Store, Delta is also available on the newly launched AltStore PAL, an Apple-approved alternative app marketplace in the European Union that can be downloaded onto iOS devices from the web. The store launched with Delta and clipboard manager Clip.
“This has been a personal dream of mine ever since I started building emulators for iOS over a decade ago, and is what my co-founder Shane Gill and I have been working towards since launching AltStore almost five years ago,” said AltStore co-founder and developer Riley Testut.
“It truly doesn’t seem real that starting today people can finally use Delta as a real app, and I can’t wait for y’all to experience it.”
Core Technology Fee
As the developer behind Delta and AltStore Pal has adopted Apple’s new EU policies that allow for alternative payments and distribution, it is required to pay the Core Technology Fee - a €0.50 charge for each download on an annual basis.
While this fee does not kick in for apps until they have surpassed one million installs, for an app marketplace, there is no such threshold.
To ensure it can afford the cost, the developer is charging €1.50 per year to AltStore PAL users to cover the fee and other payment processing charges.
The Delta app, meanwhile, is currently free to download on the App Store.
