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Apple now rejecting any app or game that references its own price on the App Store

No more releasing free versions of the same game

Apple now rejecting any app or game that references its own price on the App Store

Apple is now instantly rejecting apps that make reference to their price in their titles.

As reported by VentureBeat, mobile marketing firm Moburst encountered the problem when it attempted to submit a new app with "free" in the title. The submission was met with an error message explaining the change.

Description only

"Your app's name, icons, screenshots, or previews to be displayed on the App Store include references to your app's price, which is not considered a part of these metadata items," it says.

"Please remove any references to your app's price from your app’s name, including any references to your app being free or discounted. If you would like to advertise changes to your app's price, it would be appropriate to include this information in the app description. Changes to your app's price can be made in the Pricing and Availability section of iTunes Connect."

The change doesn't appear to affect apps already on the App Store, so takedowns of "free" apps are unlikely. That said, any updates pushed to these apps will likely encounter the error.

While Apple is looking to curb how some free apps are promoted, Google has opened a new Free App of the Week feature. It was quietly launched earlier in March 2017 to offer premium apps for free for a limited time.


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Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.