iOS banishes ‘Free’ icon from F2P game descriptions

Free-to-play games are no longer listed as being ‘Free’ on the Apple App Store.

Instead, apps such as Candy Crush Saga, Angry Birds Stella and Clash of Clans now have a ‘Get’ button, below which is the line ‘In-App Purchases’.

Beyond confirming to Re/Code that the change has been made worldwide, Apple hasn’t commented officially on the move.

However, it is widely presumed to be a response to rulings from the EU Commission that require freemium titles are more clearly labelled to reflect that fact that while they are free to download, many are designed to encourage buyers to spend cash in in-app items or currency.

Google made a similar amendmentto the Google Play Store in the summer.

F2P games accounted for 92 per cent of all Apple App Store revenue in 2013.