Alternative App Stores Are Opening Up On iOS: Onside and Playgama Bring 300 Million Gamers to Europe’s iPhones

Europe’s digital landscape is entering into a new phase of openness. For the first time, developers are able to distribute mobile applications without delay on iOS without solely relying on Apple’s App Store. 

This change stems from EU regulation called Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is now reshaping the way developers reach users, and two companies are taking full advantage.

This month, Onside.io, an Amsterdam-based alternative app platform and Playgama, a global web-based game hub, announced a partnership that has brought hundreds of HTML-5 games to iPhones across all 27 EU countries, making them instantly accessible to 300 million players. 

The move marks one of the largest online iOS deployments ever seen in Europe, and a concrete step toward what many have called a “post App-store era”.

The post-DMA reality: a fairer, faster ecosystem

The DMA, which became applicable in 2023, has been a major shift in how digital platforms operate across Europe. The legislation compels tech “gatekeepers” to open their platforms to competition, enabling alternative app stores options to directly distribute so long as they meet its transparency and security requirements. 

Against this backdrop, Onside has been at the forefront of this shift. The company is Europe’s first fully-DMA compliant iOS distribution platform that allows developers to publish games and apps in under 24 hours, compared to the days or weeks required for App Store approval.

In partnership with Playgama, Onside handled everything from SDK integration to payment systems and packaging. Within hours Playgama’s entire catalog, built by more than 500 developers worldwide, went live on iOS. 

“Playgama launched on iOS across the EU in just days, fully compliant and without the delays or constraints of the App Store.” said John Snoek, COO of Onside. “We handled the integration, payments, and native UX, allowing Playgama to focus on what matters: growth. This is what mobile distribution should look like in the post-DMA era – fast, flexible, and built around the publisher.” 

The achievement is especially notable as Apple comes under continues to face scrutiny and pressure under the same regulation, recently blaming the DMA for delays to some of its feature rollouts, while facing a €500 million (about $568 million) fine for breaching its compliance rules. In contrast, Onside’s swift deployment underscores the how the DMA can be a catalyst for innovation rather than a constraint, proving openness and compliance can work hand-in-glove. 

HTML5 games meet native iOS experiences

Playgama’s catalog is built primarily on HTML5, a lightweight and platform-agnostic format that runs seamlessly across devices. 

Traditionally, these games lived inside browsers or third-party portals like Facebook or Telegram. Now, with Onside’s infrastructure, they can be “wrapped” into native iOS experiences and distributed directly to users, all the while maintaining compliance with regulation. 

For players, the experience is indistinguishable from installing any other iOS application. For developers, it removes friction, delays, and reliance on a single platform’s policies.

Openness becomes a competitive edge

According to Dmitry Kachmar, Founder of Playgama, the collaboration represents more than a business milestone: it’s a proof of concept for a new way of thinking about mobile publishing:

“We believe the future of gaming lies in openness, where developers can distribute their games anywhere, without friction or gatekeepers.”, Kachmar said. 

“Our collaboration with Onside shows how this can already work in practice. We bring games from hundreds of developers; Onside makes sure they reach players, proving that mobile distribution can be fast, transparent, and fair. Together we’re building a more open and equitable ecosystem for everyone in gaming.”

As mobile ecosystems become more decentralized, partnerships like this one may redefine how users discover and interact with each digital content. The DMA’s framework encourages fairer competition, but it is companies like Onside and Playgama that are showing what that openness can look like in action.

A glimpse into the future of iOS distribution 

The implications extend well beyond gaming. If HTML5 titles can be deployed at this scale other app categories, such as productivity tools to streaming services could follow suit. 

The partnership offers a real example of what many policymakers envisioned when passing the DMA: a European digital economy that promotes innovation, lower barriers to entry, and empowers developers and consumers alike. 

In doing so, Onside and Playgama may have quietly made history, proving that alternative app stores are not just possible, but fast,  practical, and here to stay.

This article include a client of an Espacio portfolio company