Oliver Haslam·

Apple Yanked Game Boy Emulator iGBA From The App Store Just Hours After Release

After making the Game Boy emulator iGBA available for download in the App Store following a change of rules that allows such apps, Apple has now yanked it from the same store.

That means that there is currently no way to download the app anymore although those who already have it installed can continue to use it.

The app, which allowed people to play Game Boy ROMs on their iPhone was reportedly removed from the App Store over copyright and spam concerns, according to a MacRumors report.

The report notes that iGBA was a copy of a popular GBA4iOS app that has long been available outside of the App Store for those who go that route. GBA4iOS developer Riley Testut detailed the situation in a series of posts on Threads.

“So apparently Apple approved a knock-off of GBA4iOS,” said Testut, in a Threads post on Saturday. “I did not give anyone permission to do this, yet it’s now sitting at the top of the charts (despite being filled with ads + tracking).” He quipped that he was “so glad App Review exists to protect consumers from scams and rip-offs like this.”

While it’s unclear what Apple was concerned about in terms of spam and copyright infringement, it’s possible that the app was removed due to the way it copied GBA4iOS. The app was also reportedly full of ads and tracking software, something that could explain Apple’s worries about spam.

Game emulators had been banned from the App Store until a recent change which allows them into the store for the first time, although this app clearly didn’t last long.

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