Apple’s GameStore app for the iPhone came and went early this week, and now the company is refunding the US$0.99 users paid to snap it up before it was pulled from the App Store. In an email to customers that purchased the app, Apple said they were receiving a refund because it had been released prematurely.
Apple’s GameStore app
The refund notice Apple emailed to customers stated:
You recently purchase the GameStore app. The app was made available for sale prematurely. We apologize for the problem and have refunded the purchase amount back to your account. These funds will be applied to your original payment method within 5 business days.
The GameStore app appeared on the App Store several days ago with only “This application allows you to buy different things from within the app” as a description. It listed several games with the option to buy add-ons, although trying to purchase the game extras didn’t work.
The app was most likely just a proof of concept or sample that showed how in-app purchases could work, and also allowed Apple to perform internal tests.