Apple App Store
Apple is a bit more complicated than Google Play, especially if you publish as a company. The Apple Developer program costs 99 USD/year (or the local equivalent), and apps published as an organisation appear under the company's legal name.
Apple requires a D-U-N-S Number for companies enrolling as an organisation. The ecosystem is built around Apple ID, Apple devices, Xcode, certificates and App Store Connect, so it's more bureaucratic at first, but cleaner for your next games if the setup is done right.
Official links: your Apple ID is managed at account.apple.com · enrollment starts at developer.apple.com/programs/enroll · after approval you manage everything in App Store Connect · Apple's official guide: Enrolling with the Apple Developer app. Finishing enrollment and identity verification usually happen through the Apple Developer app.
What you need
- a dedicated company Apple ID (with 2FA enabled);
- an Apple Developer Program membership;
- a D-U-N-S Number for the organisation;
- identity verification;
- acceptance of the agreements in App Store Connect;
- possibly tax and banking forms;
- a Mac / Xcode for build, signing and upload.
Do you need an Apple device?
Practically, yes. For a serious company setup, you need real access to a Mac. There are unofficial methods via VMs, but I don't recommend them, the Apple ecosystem (Xcode, certificates, provisioning, App Store Connect) is built to run on Apple hardware.
If you don't want a new Mac, you can consider: a second-hand MacBook or Mac Mini, refurbished devices, leasing/rental, platforms like Flip.ro for second-hand/refurbished, or borrowing temporarily from someone on the team just for setup and build. For a company publishing on iOS, access to a Mac becomes almost inevitable.
How it goes, in short
- Account, a dedicated company Apple ID + 2FA, then Apple Developer.
- Enrollment, choose Organization (not Individual) and fill in the company details exactly as in the D-U-N-S.
- Verification, go through identity verification (in some regions via the Apple Developer app); pay the membership and wait for approval.
- App Store Connect, accept the agreements, fill in tax/banking (if you sell or have IAP).
- App + signing, create the app, configure the Bundle ID and signing; in Xcode set the correct Team and Automatically manage signing.
- Build + submission, archive, upload the build, fill in the metadata (privacy, age rating, screenshots, pricing) and submit for review.
The complete enrollment steps, with screenshots from the Apple Developer app, are in iOS - Opening Account. The agreements and tax forms after enrollment are in iOS - Platform Verification and Agreements, and releasing your first game in iOS - Releasing your first game.
App Store Connect
After the membership is approved, App Store Connect becomes the main panel. There you manage: apps, builds, TestFlight, App Review, screenshots, metadata, privacy, pricing, agreements, tax forms, banking, users & access, analytics and sales reports.
Don't treat App Store Connect as a simple upload form. It's the panel through which you manage your entire relationship with Apple for your app.
Agreements, tax and banking
In App Store Connect you reach the agreements section, where you must accept the relevant contracts, especially if the game has paid apps, subscriptions or in-app purchases. You may encounter: the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, the Paid Applications Agreement, tax forms, banking information, invoice/payment data, W-8BEN-E or other tax forms for non-US entities.
This is where it's worth being careful. It's not just a technical step, it affects payments, taxes and the contractual relationship with Apple. If you're unsure, ask your accountant or a tax consultant for help.
Xcode and automatic signing
For iOS, the app must be signed correctly. In Xcode you usually choose the Team associated with the Apple Developer account and enable Automatically manage signing, for a beginner, it's the simplest option (Xcode creates/manages the certificates and provisioning profiles itself).
Problems usually appear when: you use a different Apple ID, you don't have team access, the Bundle ID doesn't match, the certificate is expired, the provisioning profile is wrong, the account lacks sufficient permissions, or the agreements aren't accepted in App Store Connect.
Commission (how much Apple keeps)
- The standard commission is 30% of revenue.
- Through the App Store Small Business Program, if you have under $1,000,000 in revenue per year, you can enroll and pay only 15%; above the threshold, 30% applies.
Unlike Google, the reduced 15% rate is not automatic, you must explicitly enroll in the Small Business Program. Check eligibility and enroll from App Store Connect, especially early on.
Practical recommendation
A clean order for Apple:
- company and D-U-N-S;
- company email;
- a dedicated company Apple ID;
- access to a Mac;
- Apple Developer enrollment;
- App Store Connect access;
- agreements, tax and banking;
- Xcode signing;
- TestFlight;
- App Store submission.
Keep your details handy in My company details. For the other platform, see Google Play.