Apple Watch Developers Talk Gaming as Apple's Wearable Turns One Year Old

The Apple Watch turned one year old on Sunday, and Macworld decided to use the device's anniversary as an opportunity to revisit the state of gaming on Apple's first wearable. While the launch of the Apple Watch brought a wave of excitement for users and developers alike, the subsequent months saw a noticeable dive in both buzz-worthy Apple Watch game announcements and user interest, with a few exceptions.

As it was in April 2015, developers still believe that what works best for Apple Watch games are short, "quick-hit experiences" that get users in and out of fun, engaging games before raising their wrist grows tiresome. Everywhere Games CEO Aki Järvilehto, whose company created one of the first popular Apple Watch games, Runeblade [Direct Link], believes that as well as quick bursts of entertainment, wrist-worn games should "grow with the player" over the course of a few days, weeks, and even months.

apple watch pong
The company's viewpoint has netted an enthusiastic fanbase who have created detailed wiki pages and generate an active subreddit on Runeblade. According to Everywhere Games' statistics, active players log into the game about 100 times per day. Runeblade crafted a bite-sized RPG experience that's become a model for other Apple Watch games, but another popular blueprint being followed by developers comes from Three Minute Games' interactive fiction experience Lifeline [Direct Link], which puts players in the shoes of the only person who can communicate with a distant, stranded astronaut.

All the same, some developers simply think gaming and the Apple Watch don't mix at all. Indie developer Jacob Williams said it took him essentially one day with the initial watchOS SDK sent to developers ahead of the device's launch to realize that Apple's new wearable was simply never "going to work for gamers." Williams' beliefs underscore a late 2015 and early 2016 largely bereft of flashy, big title Apple Watch games akin to those found in the iOS App Store. A Tiny Game of Pong [Direct Link] developer Matt Wiechec thinks that Apple could be helping in this regard more than it currently is.

“It’s not often that I open the Watch app to check for new apps, and I bet this is the case for a lot of people. There aren’t many new Watch apps that Apple showcases, so each week you check, don’t find anything new, and you slowly build a habit of checking less often,” admits Wiechec. “I think it would be much better if Apple integrated Watch apps directly into the main App Store app; adding a new category for them, adding top charts, but also showcasing them on the Featured page for users who own an Apple Watch.”

Still, most of the developers that spoke with Macworld remain optimistic about the future of gaming on the platform, pointing out that even though it has been a year, that's only one year into the lifespan of an entirely new platform. Nearly all agree that the introduction of native app features in watchOS 2 -- and Apple's upcoming clamp down on any non-native apps -- is perhaps the biggest motivator for high-quality game development on the Apple Watch.

Check out Macworld's full article on Apple Watch gaming, along with a number of developer interviews, right here.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
iOS 18

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Beta Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday January 24, 2025 8:16 am PST by
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner. Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri ...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

Kuo: iPhone 17 Models Won't Have Smaller Dynamic Island

Friday January 24, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models. ...
iPhone 16 Apple Store Levels

Gurman: Apple Stores Receiving 'Merchandise' Updates Next Week

Saturday January 25, 2025 5:07 pm PST by
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch. In each of the past four years, ...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple's First Product Announcement of 2025 is Imminent

Thursday January 23, 2025 2:48 pm PST by
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year. Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...

Top Rated Comments

BeardMan7 Avatar
114 months ago
The last thing, I really need on my Apple Watch is gaming.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gaximus Avatar
114 months ago
I don't see the benefit of playing games on the watch over the phone. I've tried it and its just easier on the phone. The watch is better as a quick view of notifications and quick replies.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrismail627 Avatar
114 months ago
Oh yeah, cause I want to play games on a screen the size of a postage stamp.

/s
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WestonHarvey1 Avatar
114 months ago
The problem with Apple Watch apps in general is that they just don't do anything. Watch app developers didn't have the Wild West period of discovery they had with iPhone apps. Before the damn watch was even out, developers were already issuing decrees about what a watch app should be.

This has led to a wasteland of apps that show you a tiny bit of information, and just when it looks like you're starting to go somewhere with your interaction, you're told to pull out your iPhone if you want to do anything more.

How about you just let me read the rest of the damn article on my watch, and I'll decide when my wrist is tired, OK? I'll pull out my phone when I feel like it.

These game developers just sounded like they took one look at it and gave up instantly. How do you know what people will play if you don't even try?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oblivious.Robot Avatar
114 months ago
I only tried a few 'gaming' apps, but gave up soon enough as it took ridiculously long to even load.
But also, holding the arm at an L angle for a while does tend to hurt in a couple of minutes.
Most definitely not an enjoyable experience!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
paulrbeers Avatar
114 months ago
My watch is for telling time, notifications, weather, etc (i.e. quick data consumption). It is not meant for long term use form an app perspective.... I've all but turned off any other app.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)