Apple has closed a deal with Tencent to charge a 15% commission on purchases within WeChat mini-games, half of what it usually charges, according to Bloomberg. After more than a year of negotiations, Apple accepts conditions that it would never have admitted in the West.
Why is it important. WeChat It is not just another app: it is China’s unofficial operating system, with 1.41 billion monthly users. If Apple had blocked features or put too much pressure on Tencent, it risked a backlash that could have severely damaged its position in its third-largest market.
Tencent I knew it. Apple too. 15% is the price the company pays to keep the peace in a market where it does not dictate the rules.
The money trail. WeChat mini-games generated 32.3 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in social media revenue in the last quarter alone for Tencent. Until now, Apple did not see a cent of that pie because developers avoided its payment system.
- With 15% on that basis, Apple could earn about $675 million annually if current rates are maintained.
- It seems like a lot, but it’s pocket change: Apple had a turnover of $383 billion last year. This deal doesn’t move the financial needle.
Between the lines. The most striking thing is not how much Apple earns, but how much it has had to give up.
- In its global App Store, Apple takes 30% from most developers as a non-negotiable toll.
- In China, Tencent has forced you to accept half.
The arithmetic speaks for itself: Apple has given up 50% of its potential revenue before even starting to charge. That is not “a trade agreement.” It is a recognition of who has the real bargaining power.
Yes, but. Ultimately, for Apple, something is better than nothing. For years it has watched one of China’s fastest-growing digital entertainment segments develop entirely outside its payments ecosystem.
The agreement opens a tap of income that did not exist before, even if it is a small tap. And it sets a worrying precedent: if the most powerful player in China gets a 50% discount, what will stop others from demanding the same in other markets? It will be a matter of negotiating strength. Not everyone has a market of 1.4 billion consumers.
The contrast. In Europe and the United States, Apple has had to give ground due to regulatory pressure: antitrust lawsuits, digital market laws either court battles with Epic Games. In China, it has given way due to pure market reality.
He has not needed a regulator to force him to lower the commission. It was enough for Tencent to sit down to negotiate knowing that it manages the digital infrastructure without which Apple cannot operate effectively in the country.
The big question. Is this 15% the new standard for platforms with sufficient negotiating muscle, or can Apple manage to maintain it as a Chinese exception? What is clear is that the era of the universal 30% commission is over, replaced by a fragmented reality where whoever has the users dictates the conditions.
It is another symptom of end of globalization as we knew it.
Featured image | zhang kaiyv, Amanz
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