Apple has recently removed the iGBA Game Boy emulator from the App Store, citing violations of their App Review Guidelines related to spam and copyright infringement. The app, which quickly rose to the top of the charts following its release, was a copycat version of the open-source GBA4iOS app developed by Riley Testut. Users raised concerns about the app being filled with ads and tracking, prompting Testut to express disappointment in Apple’s approval process.
Despite iGBA being taken down from the App Store, users who already have the emulator installed can still access it to play Game Boy games using ROMs downloaded from the web. Nintendo, a major player in the gaming industry, has expressed concerns about piracy and downloading illegal copies of their games. It remains unclear whether Nintendo filed a complaint with Apple regarding iGBA, which may have played a role in its removal.
In response to the situation, Testut has created a new Nintendo game emulator called Delta, which is distributed outside the App Store. It will be available through Testut’s alternative app marketplace AltStore in the EU, raising questions about whether he plans to submit Delta to the App Store in light of recent changes to Apple’s guidelines permitting retro game console emulators. The removal of iGBA has sparked discussions about the boundaries of intellectual property and app approval processes on the App Store.