Earlier this month, Apple made a significant adjustment to its App Store Guidelines, allowing for the inclusion of game emulator apps, a move that saw the approval of iGBA, an app enabling users to play ROMs downloaded from the internet. However, the app’s presence was short-lived; it was removed from the App Store a day after its approval.
Apple clarified that the removal was due to iGBA’s violation of the App Store’s copyright and spam guidelines. Specifically, the app was found to be a near-copy of the open-source emulator GBA4iOS, rather than being removed for its ROM-supporting functionality. This situation highlights the challenges and considerations involved in accommodating game emulators within the App Store’s regulatory framework.