Epic Games Says Apple's Removal of 'Scare Screens' Leads to 60% Fewer Abandoned Installs

Epic Games says Apple's streamlined process for installing third-party app marketplaces in the European Union has dramatically improved the success rate for its own Epic Games Store. In a post today, the company noted that a recent iOS update cut the number of installation steps from 15 to just six, resulting in a 60% decrease in users abandoning the process.

Following the release of iOS 18.6 in July, Apple removed its previous scare screens and misleading messages, which Epic says thwarted around 65% of installation attempts. With the improved six-step flow, that drop-off rate has fallen to approximately 25%, bringing the install success rate for the Epic Games Store on iOS closer to that of Windows and Mac users for the first time.




Despite the progress, Epic maintains that Apple's policies continue to violate the EU's Digital Markets Act. The complaint comes just as Apple has gone on the offensive, publicly slamming the DMA for creating what it calls a worse and riskier user experience in the region. Epic specifically called out Apple's "anticompetitive junk fees," such as the Core Technology Fee, and what it described as discriminatory policies against developers who support competing stores.

Epic also contrasted Apple's changes with Google's approach on Android, which it says continues to "blatantly violate the Digital Markets Act." The company described Google's 12-step installation process and "misleading scare screen" as a deceptive user interface that sabotages more than half of all install attempts. Epic is challenging these practices in the U.S. following its antitrust victory against Google over its app store monopoly.

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