Twitch is hiking its subscription prices as it tries to claw back Apple's App Store fees from customers

iPhone screenshot
(Image credit: Apple)

Following a $1 subscription price increase back in July, Twitch is now set to increase the prices once more — but this time, only if you sign up using one of the company's mobile apps. And yes, that includes the iPhone app.

The move will see the price of a new Tier 1 sub increase starting from October 1, while gift sub prices will also increase. Twitch fans in more than 40 countries will be affected, with the company sending emails out to confirm the move.

In terms of prices, this means that a Twitch subscription will increase by $2, a 33% increase. Why is this only happening when subscriptions are paid for via mobile apps, you might ask? It's probably something to do with Apple taking its App Store cut.

Customers pay for Apple's cut

While Twitch hasn't confirmed why the prices are being increased, plenty of people have made the connection between the hike and Apple's 30% cut from subscription fees handled via its App Store payment system. The price increase was first reported by Dexerto.

This of course means that Twitch is passing on Apple's cut to customers, forcing them to pay more to ensure the streaming company doesn't lose out on its bottom line. The answer for those who don't want to go that route is to pay for their subscriptions via the Twitch website, of course, but that might not be viable for everyone.

“Starting October 1, we’re increasing new Tier 1 sub and gift sub prices on the mobile app in over 40 countries,” the streamer reportedly confirmed in a post on the X social network. “We are notifying streamers and subscribers in these countries via email.”

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Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.