Apple meanwhile created the entire OS and all of the developer APIs that your apps rely on, including things like Metal that games rely on. And Apple gives this all away for free.
Microsoft used to boast that they made more money from Apple systems than Apple did. Google does that to Android device makers today.
If platform makers don’t extract rent, or compete with the developers they court, they will look for other sources of revenue to stay profitable. I would be aghast if Apple hardware came loaded with the kind of Junkware I recall from the years I bought Windows hardware.
The neglect of the mac app store feels of a piece with their utter neglect of the mac platform. They seem to be treating it as a runout.
What you're looking for is something like "free for owners of Apple hardware", which is true, but very different. You paid for it.
If Apple had done the right thing, they would have opted for Vulkan.
$99 a year actually, plus 30% of all sales.