The "unspoken rules" of App Store operation, promotion and marketing

A few days ago, a very suspicious business simulation game called "Monopoly" was found on the App Store's free list. The app jumped from 296th to 5th place within one hour from 4 to 5 pm on May 6, and ranked 6th on the evening of May 12. As many as 3,000 reviews were all five-star positive reviews, and the content was all "fun" or "good".

However, this is not the point. The reporter found that this application seemed familiar, and then discovered through search that the application was quite similar to another game "Billionaire Legend". The pictures, content summaries and even update records in the details were exactly the same. The two applications were submitted by two personal accounts respectively.

Later, the reporter found another game "Business Life" in the App Store that was quite similar to these two games and was also submitted by a personal account. The reporter found the developer of this game, Zhuhai Qirun Network Technology, through a search. The company’s official Weibo account replied that all three games were developed by the company.

At the same time, in the App Store's best-selling rankings, the above three games all appear in the TOP 50, and also appear in the TOP 20 list of simulation business games. Games such as "Shenxiandao" and "Wangxian" that rank in the top ten on the best-selling list have currently exceeded 20 million in monthly revenue on iOS. With three seats in the TOP20, one can imagine the revenue of these games.

Many applications similar to "changing names and icons" can be found in the App Store, including "Sail Battle Arena - Competitive Edition" and "Sail Battle Arena for iPhone", "Magic Card Game" and "Magic Card Fantasy", and an app called "Basketball Manager" was submitted 4 times to the App Store using different accounts.

The App Store has always been known for its strict review process. It even launched a new policy in August last year to block apps with similar icons. So why can identical games be successfully submitted for listing?

Developer: Just change the name and submit as many as you want

A game developer named Liu Yang explained the whole story to NetEase Technology.

Liu Yang said that the App Store only cares whether the content complies with its regulations, and does not care whether it has been submitted before. If you want to submit repeatedly, just change the name or add a suffix, such as adding "iPhone version", "free version", "deluxe version", etc. Apple will regard them as different versions and allow submission. If that doesn't work, just change the name. In Liu Yang's words, "You can submit as many as you want."

Looking at the App Store Review Guidelines published by Apple, it can be found that 2.11 explains this: Programs that duplicate existing programs in the App Store may be rejected, especially if there are a large number of them.

The word "maybe" may be Apple's flexible policy for versions on different platforms, but it has been exploited by some developers and become a means for apps to make money and attract users.

The reporter downloaded and tried out several of the games and found that the servers of these games were interconnected and could be logged in with the same account. However, some users in communities such as Weibo and Baidu Tieba also questioned this issue.

The benefits of doing this are obvious. By putting all three apps up there, you can attract more users to play. In fact, all three games are directed to the same server, so the number of users and the transaction amount of in-app purchases are interconnected. It is the sum of the three games, so it will naturally make money faster than a single game alone.

Another developer who wished to remain anonymous said that the reason why Apple was unwilling to deal with these apps, in addition to the fact that some versions were indeed difficult to distinguish, was also because the game companies shared a 30% share of the revenue with Apple, and Apple naturally wanted to see them earn more.

The unspoken rules of mobile games have been disrupted and vicious competition will intensify

Some of these games are redeveloped by the developers themselves, while some are developed for the purpose of profit sharing with distributors and agents. UC Youshi COO Zhu Shunyan said that currently all major channels on the Apple platform are imported into the corresponding pages of the App Store. Users download games, and developers and channel operators cannot distinguish which ones are brought by themselves, so it is difficult to charge. Currently, the UC Jiuyou game platform is mainly Android games.

"Apple is actually the initiator. If Apple has a good way to solve this problem, we are also willing to try the iOS platform," said Zhu Shunyan.

When NetEase Technology contacted some industry insiders to discuss this issue, most people said they were used to it. "These days, competition in mobile game channels is very fierce, and there are many developers. If you don't occupy a position, someone else will," said Zhuang Minghao, an analyst at Matrix Partners.

On Apple's free and category charts in China, many games have already occupied the charts by "cloning" themselves and swiping the charts. The unspoken rules of mobile games on the iOS platform for swiping the charts to grab positions have been disrupted, and the already limited position resources have become even more scarce. The vicious competition among developers, channel operators, and swiping companies has become increasingly fierce.

On the iOS platform, developers must first give 30% of their profits to Apple, then split it 50-50 with the channels, and after deducting various expenses, there is not much left. Song Xiaofei, CEO of Moyu Century, told NetEase Technology that mobile games currently require huge investments in research and development, operation and maintenance, and promotion. Excluding various costs, it will be difficult for a mobile game to make a profit if its monthly revenue does not reach 20 million.

From the perspective of capital or developers, the current mobile game industry is much more active than PC games and web games. However, excessive competition has also led to various vicious developments, even to the point where they are no longer surprising. For the game industry, returning to speaking with products can gain longer-term vitality. Perhaps the industry is waiting for a reshuffle, or perhaps it is already underway.