Replace (07/16/25): With out immediately referencing Wheels of Aurelia, an Apple spokesperson advised Sport Developer that apps that haven’t been up to date over the previous three years and fail to satisfy a minimal obtain threshold—which means they’ve garnered little curiosity over a rolling 12 month interval—might presumably be faraway from the App Retailer.
In addition they reiterated that functions deemed outdated or not useful, alongside those who do not observe present overview pointers, may also be pulled from the App Retailer.
We have been advised that builders are nonetheless ready submit app updates following a delisting to carry their product in control and restore its place on the App Retailer.
Santa Ragione stated the data supplied above is similar response it obtained from Apple because it started interesting the choice to delist Wheels of Aurelia. Studio boss Pietro Righi Riva advised Sport Developer that he questions whether or not films, books, and music are additionally delisted by Apple after they not generate sufficient curiosity—and if not why?
“Extra broadly, I believe this behavior of responding to reputable questions from builders with boilerplate phrases and situations, fairly than participating with the underlying concern, solely deepens the perceived disconnect between Apple and the creator group,” he added. “And that’s one thing they used to care about.”
Authentic story: Horses and Saturn developer Santa Ragione has accused Apple of undermining the “worth and sustainability of video games as cultural and creative merchandise” after the tech firm knowledgeable the studio its 2016 visible novel Wheels of Aurelia might be pulled from the App Retailer with out “clear justification.”
Studio co-founder and director Pietro Righi Riva shared the information with Sport Developer and defined Wheels of Aurelia might be faraway from the App Retailer on July 25, 2025. It was apparently granted an prolonged grace interval after Santa Ragione appealed the choice—despite the fact that these appeals have been finally denied.
The studio has determined to make the title accessible free-to-download on the platform for the subsequent 10 days to make sure as many individuals as doable can expertise it earlier than it’s yanked from digital cabinets.
Riva stated Apple has up to now failed to supply an ample rationalization as to why the award-winning title has been marked for removing. “Regardless of a number of appeals and honest efforts to hunt clarification, Apple has not supplied clear justification for this removing, citing solely their coverage to take away apps deemed ‘out of date’ or ‘outdated,’ regardless of the sport being totally useful and compliant with present technical customary(s),” he defined.
“We firmly consider that eradicating totally useful creative works merely on account of rare updates undermines the worth and sustainability of video games as cultural and creative merchandise. Like books, movies, and music albums, video video games characterize full inventive works that don’t inherently require continuous updates past sustaining fundamental performance.”
“This ‘obsoletion’ coverage additional reinforces a imaginative and prescient that doesn’t acknowledge video games as an artwork kind”
After his preliminary e-mail attraction was quashed, Riva defined his second attraction resulted in a cellphone name with a member of Apple’s group who instructed them to file one other attraction through a distinct kind. In that occasion, Riva underlined that Wheels of Aurelia “continues to perform correctly and meets all expectations of customers, together with full compatibility with Sport Middle and the most recent display screen ratios.”
He additionally emphasised that sure video video games and different inventive works “don’t inherently require steady updates past guaranteeing performance and compliance with present regulation and technological necessities.”
“Updating Wheels of Aurelia at this stage would demand very vital sources solely to refresh engine and SDK parts with out offering significant enhancements to consumer expertise or creative worth,” he added in that second attraction, the contents of which have been shared with Sport Developer.
“For smaller improvement groups, such pressured updates characterize a considerable monetary burden, diverting restricted sources from new initiatives or vital ongoing work. Alternatively, eradicating these titles from the App Retailer impacts builders’ portfolios and visibility, finally affecting their sustainability and recognition in a really aggressive business.”
Riva then obtained a message explaining that Santa Ragione’s attraction was being evaluated. He claims it was rejected 5 minutes later.
Riva feels Apple’s method to delisting titles it has deemed “outdated” leaves smaller builders vulnerable to needing to constantly replace initiatives to satisfy imprecise calls for, costing them money and time that may in any other case be spent supporting different initiatives or kickstarting new endeavors.
As well as, he says Apple’s “dominant place in digital distribution makes these practices particularly troubling” and reinforces the significance of diversified ecosystems. “We commend current EU rules designed to forestall monopolistic behaviors, fostering extra equity and plurality within the digital market,” he added.
As for whether or not the state of affairs will affect Santa Ragione’s plans to assist Apple platforms transferring ahead, Riva stated the group was already discouraged by the corporate’s shift away from human curation and questioned whether or not it’s truly dedicated to serving to sport builders succeed.
“This ‘obsoletion’ coverage additional reinforces a imaginative and prescient that doesn’t acknowledge video games as an artwork kind,” he added. “It’s a view that, sadly, is turning into more and more frequent throughout the business. On this context, it’s laborious to think about how we might ever thrive inside Apple’s ecosystem.”
Wheels of Aurelia stays accessible on different platforms together with PlayStation and Steam.
Sport Developer has reached out to Apple for remark.
