Although I don't pay much attention to smartphone games here at GamersInfuzed, this is still a very interesting side of the game industry. The new Apple Arcade is potentially one of the biggest shifts in this industry for a long time.
Apple Arcade is Apple’s new subscription service. Soon you will have separate subscriptions for television series, news and now also games.
You pay five euros per month for a collection of games that can be played exclusively via Apple Arcade on smartphones. In addition, they are also playable on macOS and Apple TV with savegames in the cloud without additional costs. The games were selected by Apple, with seventy titles at the launch. This collection will be further expanded over time.
Well-known studios have been approached to post their new titles on Apple Arcade. The quality is therefore remarkably high. Not every game is equally good or appeals to everyone, but after trying several I’m absolutely impressed. From the crazy graphics in Oceanhorn 2 with a Zelda feel or the hilarity of What the Golf?.
A game subscription is nothing new, but with Apple Arcade, Apple is making some major changes to the way smartphone games usually work.
Gamedevelopers have different ways to make money from their games on iOS and Android. The game can of course cost some money, but the most important source of income is in-app purchases. Many smartphone games therefore work with an energy system. Then you can wait to continue playing, or fill the energy meter for a few euros and get back to work immediately. Ads are also used to earn free games.
What is special is that no game within Apple Arcade contains in-app purchases or advertisements. You never have to worry anymore that you cannot continue due to hidden costs, or that third-party trackers keep an eye on your behavior. It is finally purely about the games and that is a big relief.
Still, Apple Arcade is causing a huge shift in the gaming industry. The service will have a major impact on the games that are offered outside of the subscription service. If Apple Arcade is a success, then there is a big chance that the sales of games not selected by Apple will get a big blow.
But Apple Arcade does not only affect iOS. All games offered through the service may not appear on Android from Apple. Android is the most popular operating system for smartphones with potentially the largest group of players. That is a big difference with the Play Pass subscription service from Google, where the games and apps do not have to be exclusive.
For a company that for a long time has shown not understanding how important games are, Apple can suddenly become one of the most important players in the game industry.