Game Boy emulator now available on the iPhone following App Store rules change [update: gone]

Update: The app has now been removed from the App Store. Original story below.

Apple recently updated its App Store rules, seemingly allowing game emulators for the first time on the iPhone.

As a result of this policy change, the first emulator apps have started appearing on the store. iGBA is a free Game Boy game emulator for iPhone and iPad, enabling users to load and play ROMs downloaded to their devices – a type of application that Apple would have previously rejected.

The developer of iGBA seems to be taking advantage of this rule change. The app is a derivative of the open-source project GBA4iOS, but with embedded ads for monetization. (It should be noted that Riley Testut, the original developer of GBA4iOS, was not involved in the submission of iGBA.)

Despite its origins, iGBA is a fully functional emulator. Users can download Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Color ROMs from the web and play them using the app. Features such as save states, customizable virtual controllers, haptic feedback settings, and AirPlay external display projection are all available.

The language of the App Store rule change was somewhat unclear regarding the allowance of sideloaded ROMs, as it specifically mentioned licensed emulated programs within the host application.

However, assuming that the approval of iGBA was intentional and not a mistake by the reviewers, it appears that there are no restrictions on ROM loading functionality. This opens up the App Store to a wide range of game emulators to be developed and distributed.