Apple’s decision to let NFTs being bought and sold on App Store apps has not received the kind of reception one would expect from Web3 supporters.
That’s because the iPhone maker has decided to charge the standard 30% commission on in-app NFT sales, which industry executives say is “grotesquely overpriced.”
For context, leading NFT marketplace OpenSea takes a 2.5% commission on NFT sales.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney blasted the tech giant, tweeting that the company is “killing all NFT app businesses it can’t tax” by “crushing another new technology that can compete with the grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service”.
He then added: “Apple must be stopped.”
However, it is worth noting that the App Store can count on more than one billion iPhone users for its reach. Even during the peak of the NFT hype at the beginning of the year, OpenSea saw just over a million monthly users.
ONE report in The informationwho first wrote about Apple’s NFT move noted that SolanaBased NFT marketplace Magic Eden chose to withdraw from the App Store after learning about the commission.
Not all industry insiders have called for Apple’s head. Some have pointed out on Twitter that mobile games will especially benefit from selling NFTs, while others said the move will significantly increase Web3 adoption worldwide.
Epic games and NFTs
Sweeney and Epic Games are no strangers to calling out Apple on what they see as unfair marketing practices. The Fortnite maker lost the lawsuit it launched in 2020 when it claimed Apple violated antitrust laws with its 30% commission from App Store purchases.
However, Epic appealed, and last week US antitrust officials asked to join the appeal arguments set for next month, saying they were concerned that the previous ruling had not correctly interpreted antitrust law.
Sweeney has also taken a tempered stance when it comes to merging traditional games and NFTs.
Back in July, in the middle of the NFT ban from Microsoft’s Mojang Studios and SteamCEO of Epic Games so that he believes “stores and operating system manufacturers should not interfere by forcing their views on others. We [Epic Games] definitely won’t.
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