In what can only be described as big news for the AltStore PAL community, the AltStore Team announced in a post shared to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that Epic Games has provided the platform with a MegaGrant grant that will be used to cover Apple’s Core Technology Fee from now on.
For those who don’t know what this means, you’re likely in good company. According to Epic Games, MegaGrants are financial grants provided by Epic Games to “creative, noteworthy, and innovative projects,” typically built in and around Unreal Engine or related projects.
In effect, this means that AltStore PAL, which was previously paywalled behind a recurring subscription fee, is now free for everyone in the European Union (EU). The AltStore Team says that existing subscribers needn’t do anything as they won’t be charged again when their renewal date comes around. That said, there’s no reason to cancel your current subscription if you’ve been paying all along… and you may not want to…
For those who’ve been paying for AltStore PAL all this time, the AltStore Team thanks those for all the support thus far. To help prevent those who’ve paid into the platform from feeling cheated, the AltStore Team says it plans something special in a future update specifically for Day One subscribers who’ve paid their share before the platform went free.
So why is Epic Games doing this? Well, no one should forget that Epic Games plans to use AltStore PAL to distribute its popular Fortnite mobile game on the iPhone and iPad. The game was previously available in the iOS App Store but was removed due to violations to Apple’s App Store policy. This sparked a lengthy court battle between the two companies.
Since AltStore PAL will be a vehicle for Epic Games’ Fortnite mobile game on the iPhone and iPad platforms, Epic Games stands to benefit. That said, the MegaGrant is a way for Epic Games to show its appreciation to the AltStore Team for creating a way to make this possible. We expect that the ties between these two entities could deepen going forward, especially now that there’s an exchange of funds.
With AltStore PAL, app developers can distribute apps for the iPhone and iPad in the European Union without using the App Store, which means that there are fewer restrictions regarding what those apps can be or what they can do. Apple does, however, still charge a Core Technology Free for this process to work, but the MegaGrant now covers this expense for the AltStore team, which is why it’s now free instead of being subscription-based.
In any case, we’re sure that a lot of people who’ve been holding out to use AltStore PAL due to it being paywalled behind a subscription will find today’s news especially pleasant. That’s because the monthly subscription fee was on the biggest complaints we heard about from prospective users. Without it, those who aren’t willing to pay will find the platform more approachable, which is a win for the AltStore Team.
Are you happy to see that AltStore PAL is now free for everyone in the European Union? Let us know in the comments section down below.