Game Developers Describe 'Smell of Death' Around Apple Arcade

Some game developers are dissatisfied with Apple Arcade amid concerns about the subscription service's future, a new report claims.

applearcade
Sources speaking to mobilegamer.biz described a "smell of death" around Apple's games subscription service and noted the difference between the company's investment in TV and music, and its interest in games. "At the very top of the company there needs to be a passion and respect for games, and there just isn't," one developer said. "It all depends on how much buy-in there is from those guys at the top, and I don't think they really value Arcade or invest in it the same way you see them invest in music or TV."

The service initially touted generous upfront payments to developers. Most games released on ‌Apple Arcade‌ in the service's first few years were apparently profitable, providing a lifeline for studios. "Despite its imperfections, we're very very happy Arcade exists. It has made premium games viable on mobile," one games studio executive said, explaining that their company would not exist without Apple's support.

The report claims that ‌Apple Arcade‌'s payouts to developers have been falling for several years, noticeably starting in October 2020. Both upfront payments and the per-play "bonus pool" have shrunk, and Apple is said to be evasive about how these sums are calculated. "They have this opaque metric that they call a qualifying session, and bonus pool payments are made based on that," one source said. "But no-one knows what a qualifying session actually is – it has something to do with if the game was launched, how long the player played for and how often they return. But it's a black box, really."

"App Store Greats" are not eligible for upfront payments, receiving bonus pool contributions only. As a result, games with shorter narratives and premium indie titles earn less than games with longer-term retention. This apparently explains the slow loss of certain types of games on the service. Moreover, there has apparently been a strong shift toward prominent family-friendly IP in Apple's commissioning decisions, with one or two new "‌App Store‌ Greats" per month. Very few original games are greenlit for the service unless they meet these requirements.

While some developers spoke about their relationship positively, others described the company as "vindictive" or "spiteful" in its dealings. Some developers claim that the ‌Apple Arcade‌ team has not made its strategy shift and overall direction clear, and often simply stops replying to emails. "I got the sense they didn't really know where they were going with it all – almost like they weren't sure if they'd have jobs at the end of it," one studio representative said.

Developers similarly spoke about their difficulties getting marketing support or obtaining features on the ‌App Store‌, even when their games are struggling to get traction on ‌Apple Arcade‌. "We have to basically beg for featuring from Apple. Getting that banner featuring at the top is like squeezing blood from a stone," one developer added.

Apple "rebooted" the subscription service in April 2021, cancelling a large number of projects. Some developers believe that Netflix's competitive move into gaming subscriptions has prompted Apple to consider another ‌Apple Arcade‌ reboot, but the long-term future of the service is unclear.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...

Top Rated Comments

tekcor Avatar
14 months ago
I really hope Arcade doesn't go away. I tell my kids I will approve anything from the Arcade, since I know I can trust the content. No microtransactions, no ads, no manipulative gameplay... you know, actual games. I don't have to scrutinize Arcade content like I have to non-Arcade games, which are more often ad platforms with games attached.
Score: 83 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rgwebb Avatar
14 months ago
Apple will never succeed in gaming because they won't really work at it. The only reason iOS has any success with gaming is an utter accident.
Score: 82 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cryates Avatar
14 months ago

Ye ok, if you think so. They are just realising no one wants to pay a subscription for games. It’s not a misstep, maybe they see the numbers and know it’s dying.
34m Game Pass subscribers. People are willing to pay if the service is good.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iLoveDeveloping Avatar
14 months ago
Why would they invest in it. It’s a terrible idea. I don’t want to pay a subscription to play a bloody game. I’m so sick of all these subscriptions. Let me buy my own stuff and keep it. I absolutely love sneaky Sasquatch but there isn’t any scenario where I’m paying monthly to play it.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
14 months ago
Another Cook misstep
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
icanhazmac Avatar
14 months ago
It never stood a chance. I guess it was an attempt by Apple to care about games but it was a poor attempt.

They should have taken all the money invested here and financed some AAA games on Mac.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)