Apple Arcade has shifted to focus on games with higher 'engagement'
Apple is reportedly shifting its Apple Arcade development strategy by looking for titles for higher levels of "engagement," while dropping some existing contracts.
Credit: Apple
The Apple Arcade strategy shift is said to be a way for the Cupertino tech giant to retain current subscribers. The service, which costs $4.99 a month, first launched in September 2019.
In mid-April, an Apple Arcade creative producer reportedly told some game developers that their upcoming titles for the service didn't have the right level of "engagement," according to Bloomberg. As a result, Apple reportedly scrapped contracts with multiple game studios while informing them of the new strategy.
Although Apple still paid game studios for the development milestones they had hit, several game developers suddenly faced financial woes compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. The company also invited those studios that they'd like to work with them on future titles that meet the new approach.
Apple is reportedly increasingly interested in games that will hook users to stay beyond their one-month free trial periods, Bloomberg reported. One example of the type of game Apple wants, which was given during the mid-April call, is puzzle-action title Grindstone.
Developers who spoke with the publication said that the new approach may be a sign that Apple Arcade subscriber growth has been weaker than expected since its launch. Apple has not yet released subscriber count numbers for Apple Arcade.
Just recently, Apple sent out emails offering users who had canceled Apple Arcade another free month.
The news comes during increased antitrust scrutiny for Apple, and just a few days after The New York Times said they would pull out of Apple's Apple News service.
The services segment is still one of Apple's most important growth drivers. During the second quarter, Apple reported that the business had reached an all-time high of $13.3 billion in revenue. While it highlighted select services like Apple Music, the company didn't mention specifically Apple Arcade during its April 30 earnings call.
During its WWDC 2020 keynote, Apple announced new tvOS 14 features for its gaming service -- including multiple user profiles and synced save data. Apple also regularly adds new games to Apple Arcade.
Credit: Apple
The Apple Arcade strategy shift is said to be a way for the Cupertino tech giant to retain current subscribers. The service, which costs $4.99 a month, first launched in September 2019.
In mid-April, an Apple Arcade creative producer reportedly told some game developers that their upcoming titles for the service didn't have the right level of "engagement," according to Bloomberg. As a result, Apple reportedly scrapped contracts with multiple game studios while informing them of the new strategy.
Although Apple still paid game studios for the development milestones they had hit, several game developers suddenly faced financial woes compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. The company also invited those studios that they'd like to work with them on future titles that meet the new approach.
Apple is reportedly increasingly interested in games that will hook users to stay beyond their one-month free trial periods, Bloomberg reported. One example of the type of game Apple wants, which was given during the mid-April call, is puzzle-action title Grindstone.
Developers who spoke with the publication said that the new approach may be a sign that Apple Arcade subscriber growth has been weaker than expected since its launch. Apple has not yet released subscriber count numbers for Apple Arcade.
Just recently, Apple sent out emails offering users who had canceled Apple Arcade another free month.
The news comes during increased antitrust scrutiny for Apple, and just a few days after The New York Times said they would pull out of Apple's Apple News service.
The services segment is still one of Apple's most important growth drivers. During the second quarter, Apple reported that the business had reached an all-time high of $13.3 billion in revenue. While it highlighted select services like Apple Music, the company didn't mention specifically Apple Arcade during its April 30 earnings call.
During its WWDC 2020 keynote, Apple announced new tvOS 14 features for its gaming service -- including multiple user profiles and synced save data. Apple also regularly adds new games to Apple Arcade.
Comments
I was really hoping to find some good multiplayer games that we could play as a family. Not multiplayer online with strangers, but with family members on the same AppleTV to enjoy the experience together. I have only been able to find one game that 2 people could play, and it was really boring. Simple racing games like MarioKart would be a blast.
Adding support for Xbox controllers was great, but I find the responsiveness not great, and so many games are impossible to exit with the controller! Frustrating. Our family will now go and try to decide between a Switch, Playstation, or Xbox.
Exactly. Seems Apple stitched a bunch of .99 cent games into the service and expected gamers to come running in flocks. Doesn't matter how beautiful a game is if it's the same stuff you get on your iPhone 6 for a buck. You know, those 2D sidescrollers, endless runners and other over-played App Store crap.
Apple TV needs to be on par with Switch content-wise. The same power is already possible yet Apple gets nothing meanwhile Switch has great first-parties like Mario Kart and we get garbage like Beach Buggy Racing or Real Racing which hasn't had a new installment since iPhone 5. Can you believe, to this day Real Racing 3 is on lists of "Top Apple TV Games". A freaking game with iPhone 5 graphics and praised as one of the most graphical games on the platform. Embarrassing.
Apple TV 4K:
4K
Dolby Vision
Dolby Atmos
Crappy bite-sized games
Switch
1080P
No Dolby certifications
No HDR
AAA Games
Shame Apple has all the hardware advantages but guess which one I'm buying for gaming?
But on the odd time I have dipped into a game I have been totally put off by
- micro transactions
- in app purchases
- in app advertising
So I understand what Apple has tried to do.
But from my point of view the fact that Apple even feel the need to do this say something about the general state of the gaming market.
Also that game from Final Fantasy creator looks like crap. They brag about real environments but the characters do not blend well with the environments. Looks like a high school project. I think Apple screwed up when they required iPhone SE support. They should have been forward thinking and only supported X-series iPhones and above. Instead they wanted to cast a wider net but punish the content.
I heard Beyond a Steel Sky is good but it's no where near as popular as a Call of Duty or Resident Evil. I hope you're right and we start getting some "must have" titles soon. Apple Arcade has none at the moment.
This is not a tech problem, like a few years ago's "game studios don't support Apple platforms", "underpowered" or "no OpenGL" memes. Almost all of the mainstream game engines have been ported to Metal. Apple must just incentivize the development of a few great games for Apple Arcade.
I think "engaging" would be more like those games that have an active online userbase. Think Fortnite, Minecraft, Splatoon, PUBG. These games have users who play an hour a day for years. Apple has ZERO games like this, all they need is ONE. Imagine if Fortnite was Apple Arcade exclusive for example.
Cornfox Brothers are obviously big Zelda and Nintendo fans, but those games are a lot more than knockoffs. You have to spend time playing them to understand why. For example, Oceanhorn 2 actually has a heavy sci-fi angle to it.
We know Apple devices are capable of Switch-like titles. We're disappointed that we have zero experiences like that.
Apple TV is capable of running 4K HDR. Imagine these visuals but better and in 4K Dolby Vision:
That's running on an old ARM chip.
I'm not a graphics whore but it's infuriating seeing all that Apple power go to waste. With the A14 chip coming in months, new Macs and hopefully a new Apple TV. I want to see Apple do something great.
Also, Apple never took gaming seriously... nor gaming GPUs and thermals...
Every console launches with at least one AAA game, some launch with 3. Apple doesn't even have a AA game.
Apple Arcade removes all that shit for a reasonable cost. He does not care AAA multiplayer games he wants to enjoy and hopefully learn puzzle solving and hand eye skills. My days a game was loaded and you play it no extra costs.
develop the platform for the better. Giving it a chance is worth waiting for. To me it’s more value than AppleTv+ which I’m sure they spent a lot more on.
Third party controllers are a nice addition, but nothing beats a PS4/XB1/Keyboard and Mouse for more advanced games that are native to the system you’re playing on. Advances have been made so porting between console and PC are easier than ever before, but even then there can be gameplay issues when the controls are not taken into consideration. Porting to Mobile? Look at the terrible Slay the Spire port to realize that even in this day and age developers can still screw it up.
There can only be so many Match-Three gem games, Clash of Clans, and whatever else. Apple needs better controllers if they want better games. If they don’t care about better games, then they’ll stay on the same tier they have always played on.