Skich Enters the Fray as New App Store Competitor

With Apple's ecosystem becoming more open, we're witnessing a surge of new alternative app stores on iOS, each vying to become the first successful contender. The latest entrant in this space is Skich, a gaming-centric alt store that aims to differentiate itself from competitors like Apptoide by emphasizing gaming over other types of apps.

The foundation of Skich's strategy is its innovative discoverability system. This system comprises three key features: a recommendation engine, a swipe-based discovery interface, and a social component that includes lists showing what games your friends and others with similar tastes are playing. These features might remind you of Steam, which isn't a bad comparison. The Epic Games Store for iOS, for instance, has been criticized for lacking the robust social and discovery features that users of platforms like Steam and GOG have come to expect.

Big fish, small pond? Skich's unique selling point is its focus on gaming and enhanced discoverability. However, this might not be enough to secure its success. As I've mentioned, new app stores need to lure users away from familiar platforms. Epic Games Store uses free games as its lure, while Apptoide attracts users with its broader range of apps. So, can Skich's gamer-first approach secure its place in the market? There's potential, but it's not guaranteed.

The increasing interest from major publishers like EA and Flexion, who recently teamed up to explore alternative app stores, suggests that we might soon see a shift where these new entrants challenge the dominance of official storefronts.