Apple offers small concession in easing App Store rules for Netflix, others

San Francisco / Tokyo: Apple Inc further loosened App Store rules on Wednesday, allowing some content companies like Netflix Inc to provide links to their websites so customers can sign up for paid accounts.

The concession was part of a settlement with Japan's anti-trust regulator, which said the change was enough for it to close a five-year investigation into Apple that focused on video and music apps but did not consider games. The U.S. tech giant, however, must still contend with a raft of other legal and regulatory challenges to rules it forces game makers to follow, including a closely watched antitrust lawsuit brought by "Fortnite" creator Epic Games.