Platform Sovereignty: App Ecosystems vs. The Open Web
- App stores extract 30% commission while controlling distribution, discovery, and user relationships
- The browser remains the last truly open platform—no gatekeepers, no permission required
- Native apps win on raw performance; the web wins on distribution and accessibility
- Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) combine web distribution with near-native capabilities
- Regulatory pressure is forcing app stores to open, but the web offers freedom today
The App Store is a Walled Garden. Apple and Google extract a 30% tax on all transactions and act as absolute gatekeepers over what billions of users can access. They can reject your app, remove it overnight, or change the rules at any moment. Developers build on borrowed land—and the landlords are capricious.
The browser represents a radically different model: an open platform where developers need permission from no one to deploy, and users need no account to access. This comprehensive analysis examines both approaches—their economics, their power dynamics, and their implications for gaming's future.
The 30% Tax: Platform Economics
Apple and Google each take a 30% cut of all App Store transactions. For subscriptions, this drops to 15% after the first year, but the initial extraction is significant by any measure. To contextualize: payment processors like Stripe charge 2.9% + $0.30. The app store premium is roughly 10x market rate for payment processing.
What does 30% buy? The platforms argue they provide:
- Distribution: Access to billions of devices
- Payment infrastructure: Secure, trusted transactions
- Discovery: App Store search and featuring
- Trust: Platform-level review and security
- Marketing: Exposure through editorial features
Critics counter that these services are worth nowhere near 30%, that the platforms abuse monopoly positions, and that independent developers subsidize platform marketing while receiving minimal promotional benefit.
The Open Web Advantage
The browser represents a fundamentally different power structure. It's the last major computing platform without a gatekeeper—no entity controls what websites can exist, what content they can serve, or what code they can run (within security constraints).
| Aspect | App Store | Open Web |
|---|---|---|
| Permission to Deploy | Required (review process) | None needed |
| Transaction Fee | 30% (15% for subscriptions Y2+) | Payment processor only (~3%) |
| Content Restrictions | Extensive guidelines | Minimal (legal compliance) |
| User Relationship | Owned by platform | Direct to developer |
| Cross-Platform | Separate builds per platform | One codebase everywhere |
| Update Speed | Review delays (1-7 days) | Instant |
| Discovery | Built-in store search | Developer responsibility (SEO, marketing) |
| User Trust | Platform-verified | Developer must establish |
Performance vs. Access: The Tradeoff
Native apps win on raw performance. Direct GPU access, lower-level system APIs, and absence of browser overhead provide an edge—particularly for graphically intensive applications. But this edge is shrinking rapidly, and it comes at a cost.
| Performance Metric | Native App | Modern Browser (WASM/WebGL) |
|---|---|---|
| CPU Performance | 100% (baseline) | 80-95% via WebAssembly |
| GPU Performance | 100% (Metal, Vulkan) | 70-85% via WebGL 2.0 (WebGPU improving) |
| Memory Access | Full system RAM | Limited by browser allocation |
| File System | Full access | Sandboxed only |
| Hardware Peripherals | Full Bluetooth, USB, etc. | Limited (WebHID, WebBluetooth emerging) |
For most game genres—casual games, strategy, puzzle, simulations, idle games—the performance difference is imperceptible to users. AAA action games with cutting-edge graphics remain native territory, but that's a shrinking slice of the gaming market.
Consider the funnel:
- Native App: See ad → App Store → Download (500MB) → Install → Open → Play. 5-minute minimum; most users abandon.
- Browser Game: See link → Click → Play. 3-second load; nearly zero friction.
If a native app converts 2% of clicks to installs, and a browser game converts 80% of clicks to plays, the browser game can afford to be "worse" and still reach more players. In a high-friction world, distribution is king.
Progressive Web Apps: The Bridge
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) represent an attempt to combine web distribution with native-like capabilities. PWAs can be "installed" to home screens, work offline, send push notifications, and access hardware features—while remaining fundamentally web technologies without app store gatekeeping.
Apple's iOS implementation of PWAs is deliberately inferior to Android's. Safari restricts:
- Push notifications—only partially supported as of iOS 16.4
- Background processing—severely limited compared to native apps
- Storage—7-day expiration in some contexts
- Engine mandate—all iOS browsers must use WebKit, preventing better engines
This is not coincidence. PWAs threaten the App Store's 30% tax. Apple's restrictions protect a tens-of-billions-dollar revenue stream. EU regulation (Digital Markets Act) is forcing changes, but slowly.
Regulatory Pressure: The Walls Crumbling
Global regulators have recognized app store monopolies as competition concerns. The EU's Digital Markets Act, US antitrust investigations, and court rulings are gradually forcing platform openness.
Epic deliberately violates App Store rules to trigger lawsuit challenging 30% fee and app store monopoly. Mixed ruling—Apple wins on most counts but must allow external payment links.
EU designates Apple and Google as "gatekeepers" subject to new rules. Platforms must allow third-party app stores and alternative payment methods in the EU.
Under DMA pressure, Apple enables alternative app marketplaces in the EU—but with conditions that critics call "malicious compliance."
DOJ antitrust case against Apple continues. Similar regulatory pressure in Japan, South Korea, UK. App store monopolies face global scrutiny.
The NEM5 Model: Web-First Gaming
NEM5 games are built web-first by design. Every game works in browsers on any device—desktop, mobile, tablet—without downloads, without app store approval, without gatekeepers. This isn't a limitation; it's a strategic choice.
- Zero-friction access: click link → play immediately
- No 30% platform tax on transactions
- Instant updates—no app review delays
- Cross-platform by default
- Linkable—easy to share virally
- No platform policy censorship
- No app store discovery/featuring
- iOS Safari limitations (Apple friction)
- Users conditioned to app download model
- Push notification constraints
- Must build brand trust independently
- Payment processing must be self-implemented
Frequently Asked Questions
Three main reasons: Discoverability (app stores provide built-in search and featuring), User Expectations (consumers are trained to look for apps in stores), and Monetization Infrastructure (app stores handle payments, refunds, subscriptions). These are real benefits—the question is whether they're worth 30%. For many developers, especially those with existing marketing channels and technical capability to handle payments, the answer is increasingly "no."
Absolutely. Web games can integrate payment processors like Stripe (2.9% + $0.30), PayPal, or crypto payments. Advertising via Google AdSense or gaming-specific ad networks (IronSource, AdMob) works identically to mobile. Subscription models, direct donation via Patreon/Ko-fi, and sponsor-branded games all generate revenue. The economics actually improve without the 30% extraction.
Only under compulsion. Apple's App Store generates $20+ billion annually in commission revenue. Every PWA that succeeds is an app that doesn't pay the 30% tax. Apple has economic incentive to keep PWA capabilities limited. Regulatory pressure (EU DMA, potential US legislation) is the only lever that has moved Apple. Expect gradual, reluctant improvements as regulators force compliance—not voluntary enhancement.
Yes, but with different economics. Console manufacturers (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) also take 30% cuts and control content. However, consoles are often sold at a loss with games expected to recoup the investment—a different business model than phones. Console development also requires expensive dev kits and formal licensing relationships. For small developers, browser games bypass console gatekeeping entirely; console players can play in their device browsers too.
Likely for certain categories. As web capabilities expand (WebGPU, better offline support, improved iOS PWAs under regulatory pressure), the performance gap narrows while web distribution advantages remain. Categories already shifting: casual games, utilities, content apps. Categories likely to remain app-store-dominant: hardware-intensive games, apps requiring deep OS integration. The future is probably hybrid—web-first for distribution, optional native for power users.
Conclusion: The Choice Is Yours
The app store versus web question ultimately comes down to values: convenience versus freedom, discoverability versus sovereignty, platform subsidy versus independence.
App stores offer real value—curation, trust, infrastructure—but extract monopoly pricing for it. The web offers freedom—no gatekeepers, no permission, no 30% tax—but requires developers to build their own distribution and trust.
At NEM5, we've made our choice: the open web. We deploy games without asking anyone's permission. We update instantly without review queues. We keep control of our relationship with players. We accept the trade-offs—building our own discoverability, establishing our own trust—because the alternative is building on borrowed land.
The browser is the last truly open platform in computing. As app stores face regulatory pressure and web capabilities expand, the case for open web development only strengthens. The walls are crumbling. The future is frictionless. The browser wins.
- Ek, D. & Sweeney, T. (2020). Coalition for App Fairness. appfairness.org
- European Commission. (2022). Digital Markets Act. Official Journal of the EU.
- Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple Inc. (2021). United States District Court, N.D. California.
- Russell, A. (2021). Rethinking the Web. infrequently.org
- Web.dev Team. Progressive Web Apps. web.dev/progressive-web-apps