In a move that should’ve been implemented a long time back, Apple has started banning applications that reward users for incessant sharing on social channels. Applications that unlock in-game/app achievements for watching videos will also suffer the same fate. Several high profile games like Candy Crush are now in violation of Apple’s new rules and might have to undergo significant retooling.
Engadget reports that applications are also being rejected for promoting apps other than dev’s own. There is absolutely no doubt that this move will have far reaching consequences for monetization strategies for developers. While it will definitely help cull the undeserving, money grabbing apps from the store, it will also have an adverse effect on legitimate free to play applications that depend on these means for revenues.
With iOS 8, Apple has introduced a range of improvements to the App Store that promise to improve app discovery which explains why Cupertino isn’t too keen on developers relying on potentially misleading cross promotion activities. TL;DR? Developers can promote their own applications via a more games section within the application but cannot link to another developer’s portfolio. Additionally, viewing videos & sharing on social channels to unlock IAPs is a no go. We can’t really blame Apple for wanting to do a bit of spring cleaning in their Store even if it does punish a small percentage of legit apps. Now if only Google would hurry up and employ a similar strategy on the Play Store.