I think the idea behind this ban (could be wrong) is that Apple wants to be the main (only?) app-based curator of apps. It lets them control the narrative and flow of money.

It becomes a lot harder to justify a 30% cut should 3rd party apps drive the majority of downloads.

Presumably the 3rd parties would want a referral / affiliate fee, which would come out of the 30%. That seems more than fair -- this is clearly about control, not money.

There was an insanely popular one, TouchArcade, that died because of the same burst of action by Apple. Crazy to see this come full circle, TouchArcade was run by one of the most loyal and oldest Apple blogs, MacRumors.

actually another HNer started a website exactly for this purpose after the idea resonated in another thread (don't remember the thread; user is stavros): https://nobsgames.stavros.io/

Oooh thanks! That's super useful!

Apple Arcade for $5 / month is a good deal. Fun games and no more money to pay ever. If you like the old Zelda games check out Oceanhorn as well.