It looks like Apple Arcade’s days could be numbered.
In interviews with Mobilegamer.biz, several sources outlined concerns about the future of Apple’s game subscription service amid reports that the tech giant is cancelling games and cutting developer payouts.
Apple Arcade first launched back in 2019, and at the time, Apple claimed that upfront payments to developers were high enough that titles were immediately profitable for the teams that create them. Deals often included generous per-play bonuses, but according to Mobilegamer.biz’s unnamed sources, this money started to dry up in late 2020.
“We’re going to see that amount decrease and decrease and decrease until it’s pennies,” said one unnamed developer in Mobilegamer.biz’s story. “At that point putting a game on Arcade starts to become much less viable.”
Another developer says Apple “cancelled a shitload of projects and pissed off a lot of people” when it shifted more towards family-friendly licenses based on popular IP.
Not every developer was negative about Apple Arcade, with one mobile game creator stating “Despite its imperfections, we’re very, very happy Arcade exists. It has made premium games viable on mobile.”
Apple has yet to release an official statement regarding Apple Arcade’s future. It’s possible this shift in strategy could be in response to Netflix’s mobile gaming efforts, which most recently included the Grand Theft Auto: Trilogy, a remaster of the original 3D GTA titles. It’s also important to remember that this is Apple we’re talking about, a company with seemingly endless cash. If Apple wants to keep Arcade going indefinitely as an Apple One pack-in, it’s more than capable of doing so.
Since its launch, several notable games have come to Apple Arcade, including Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City, Crossy Road Castle, EarthNight, Exit the Gungeon and of course, Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Fantasian.
In October 2023, Apple increased the price of Arcade considerably from $5.99/month to $8.99/month. Apple Arcade is also part of Apple One’s base level 22.95/month subscription, which also includes 50GB of cloud storage, Apple TV+ and Apple Music.
Source: Mobilegamer.biz
