After Apple relaxed its App Store guidelines to allow game emulators, Delta, a retro game emulator developed over a decade by Riley Testut, soared to the top of the App Store charts. However, the newfound attention also brought legal troubles as Adobe accused Delta of using a logo too similar to its own.
Delta originated from Testut’s previous app, GBA4iOS, which allowed users to play emulated games on iOS without jailbreaking. Despite its popularity, GBA4iOS was eventually shut down by Apple. Now, with Apple permitting emulators, Delta quickly became the No. 1 app on the App Store, gaining millions of downloads.
However, the success drew scrutiny, and Adobe threatened legal action over logo similarities. In response, Delta changed its logo, stating, “Adobe is threatening legal action because they think our logos are too similar — so we changed it.”
Delta received an email from Adobe’s lawyer on May 7, claiming that its app icon infringed on Adobe’s “A” logo and requesting a change to avoid legal issues. Adobe gave Delta until May 17 to respond. Meanwhile, Adobe also contacted Apple, asking them to remove the Delta app due to trademark infringement. In response, Delta clarified to both Adobe and Apple that its logo was a stylized Greek letter delta, not an “A,” and agreed to update the logo despite the distinction.
To avoid potential legal issues, Delta has introduced a new logo resembling a broken triangle. Unfortunately, this redesign isn’t as clean and simple as before, which has led some users to suggest alternatives, such as using the lowercase delta letter or commissioning custom artwork for the new brand.
According to Testut, the current app features a temporary logo on its icon, and a final version designed by Caroline Moore is planned for Delta 1.6. Despite the interim change, Testut isn’t overly concerned about the impact on the brand.