Skich Enters the Fray as New App Store Competitor

With Apple's ecosystem now more open than ever, a slew of new players are vying to become the first successful alt app store on iOS. The latest to enter this competitive arena is Skich, a gaming-centric alt store that aims to challenge established platforms like Apptoide by focusing solely on gaming experiences.

Skich sets itself apart with its robust discoverability system, which hinges on three key features: a recommendation engine, a swipe-based discovery interface, and a social system that showcases games your friends and like-minded players are enjoying. These features might remind you of Steam, a similarity that could be advantageous. While the Epic Games Store for iOS retains some of the shortcomings of its PC version, particularly in social features and discoverability, Skich aims to fill this gap.

**Big fish, small pond?** Skich certainly has a compelling core selling point. However, the question remains whether this alone will be sufficient to capture a significant share of the market. As I've noted previously, to thrive in the iOS ecosystem, new storefronts must entice users away from their familiar platforms.

Epic Games Store attracts users with free games, while Apptoide diversifies its offerings beyond just gaming. Skich's gamer-first approach has potential, yet its success is not guaranteed. With larger publishers like EA and Flexion showing increased interest in alternative app stores, we might soon see a shift where these new entrants overshadow the traditional storefronts.