Apple Removes ‘Knock-Off’ Game Boy Emulator from App Store

Apple has suddenly removed its first-ever Game Boy emulator from its App Store, just one day after its launch.

Accessing the App Store page for the iGBA, a retro Game Boy consoles emulator, will only take users to a never-ending loading screen.

Although Apple and the app's developer have yet to why the app was taken down, a clear reason can be pointed out by another Game Boy emulator developer.

Emulator Developer Accused iGBA of Copying App's Code

In a Threads post on Sunday, GBA4iOS developer Riley Testut accused the tech giant of allowing a "knock-off" of his open-source emulator for iOS he first launched over a decade ago.

Post by @rileytestut

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The "knock-off" app even used the same bundle of codes, albeit unlicensed, Testut used for his emulator as evidenced by a Mastodon post.

The only difference is that the iGBA was riddled with ads that can track its users, in contrast to the ad-free version Testut made.

This further complicates the situation as Testut has already launched an updated version of the emulator for Apple products, including the Vision Pro headwear.

Testut told The Verge that he was "disappointed" with Apple's move to platform such app, especially after working with the company to launch an alternative app for retro consoles emulator for iOS devices.

Apple Now Allows Retro Game Emulators on App Store

Despite being a disastrous launch, iGBA marks the first time Apple has fully authorized a game emulator on its App Store after years of tight restrictions against such apps.

The first-of-its-kind move follows after the tech giant updated App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators on its platform.

Apple first announced its decision to allow emulators as long as the "software is not embedded in the binary." This means users still need to download the files, or at least the ROM, of the game from third-party platforms.

So far, only one authorized emulator is accessible on the platform: Emu64 XL, a Commodore 64 emulator.

It is worth noting that it is still illegal to play licensed ROMs on the emulator, although homebrewed versions seem to be fair play.