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Some developers continue to be unhappy working with Apple's subscription-based mobile gaming service Apple Arcade, mobilegamer.biz reports.

apple-arcade-orange-feature.jpg

Talking to the website, some developers said that studios have to wait up to six months to receive payments from Apple Arcade. They also pointed out difficulties getting responses to routine emails, unsatisfactory technical support, and poor discoverability. One developer said:

We were able to sign a good deal for our titles which covered our whole development budget. Things have changed since the early times, it's a very difficult and long process to sign a deal with Apple these days. The lack of vision and clear focus of the platform is frustrating and if there is any goal, it keeps changing every year or so. Also technical support is pretty miserable.

Most developers pointed out that Apple Arcade pays well, particularly during its first few years:
Whatever anyone else says, the advances were fantastic. They were off the charts compared to what we're used to being paid. And you got royalties on top of that.

While initially developers benefited from prompt monthly payments from the Bonus Pool of ongoing royalty payments, there is now a five month backlog. One developer claims to have almost gone out of business as a result of the slow payments, while others have had to chase for payments for months.

Developers also pointed out general communication issues, and when they do receive a response, the results are often disappointing. One developer shared:
We can go weeks without hearing from Apple at all and their general response time to emails is three weeks, if they reply at all. We're supposed to be able to ask product, technical and commercial questions, but often half the Apple team won't turn up and when they do they have no idea what's going on and can't answer our questions, either because they don't have any knowledge on how to answer it, or are not able to share that info for confidentiality reasons.

There are also apparently significant issues with developing Apple Arcade games for the Vision Pro headset. Developers expressed their frustration with Apple's technical support for the Vision Pro, which they described as inadequate and unhelpful. One developer said:
The technical support is awful – the worst I have seen anywhere. They are unable to offer any insights into how the hardware and the software it runs on works, or how essential middleware is meant to work with it.

Developing for Vision Pro is like going back in time 10 years because despite the advertised power – and the cost – it is not a machine built for gaming. Getting any complex games working on the platform is difficult.

Other sources told mobilegamer.biz that while they had been approached by Apple to make a game for the Vision Pro, they were offered no financial incentives and no guarantees of promotion. This contrasts with competitors like Meta, which offers generous financial incentives and marketing guarantees to developers creating content for its platforms.

Developers also pointed out issues with quality assurance and updates, claiming that a prolonged discussion with Apple over a single update cost their team two months of work. "Submitting updates is so painful our developers started trying to avoid it," they said. Likewise, there are apparently issues with discoverability. Other developers shared their frustration, stating:
It feels like the game's been in a morgue for the last two years. It doesn't matter what we put in the game, Apple won't feature us, it's like we don't exist. So as a developer you think, well, they've given us this money for exclusivity… I don't want to give them the money back, but I do want people to play my game. It's like we're invisible.

One developer concluded with a broader critique of Apple Arcade's strategic direction:
Arcade has no clear strategy and feels like a bolt-on to the Apple company ecosystem rather than like it is truly supported inside the company. Apple 100% does not understand gamers – they have little to no info on who plays their games that they can share with developers, or how they interact with games on the platform already.

[...]

I believe Apple Arcade is a good idea in general, but they need a clear goal for where it should go and what it is for. That's a question they need to answer and then act accordingly.

Another developer offered a slightly more positive perspective:
I think Arcade knows who its audience is much more today than at the outset. If that doesn't turn out to be high concept artful indie games, that's not Apple's fault. If they can build a business on family games, good for them and good for the devs who can chase that opportunity.

Apple Arcade launched in September 2019, giving users access to a large library of games for a monthly fee of $6.99. Apple Arcade is also available as part of the Apple One subscription bundle, which combines multiple Apple services into a single monthly plan.

Article Link: Apple Arcade Frustrations Persist for Game Developers
 
Whilst I wouldn't go as far as Daz up here I would say that there aren't really that many titles worth keeping the sub around for these days.

In the early years Butter Royale alone was worth keeping the sub around for. The likes of Oceanhorn 2, Horizon Chase 2 and Fantasian were top-tier games for mobile. But now the top iPhones can play PS4 games and most of the others you can buy (and keep) on Switch. Netflix signed up better titles like Puzzler, Hades and Sonic leaving Apple with + versions of oooold titles most of us already own.
 
Existing game development has stagnated everywhere and the reason no one is playing these games is because they often suck or are just respins of existing concepts. Make some new innovative games that people actually want to play and there wont be issues.
 
This service should go in the bin,

I've had it for a while for free and never really got inot it. Once free goes away I'll cancel it.

However, it seems the target audience was casual younger gamers and parents who could let their kids pay games without having a surprise bill form in game purchases.

In any case, it seems gaming is just one of those "we should be there moments" and not of serious enough interest to really support developers.

along with ATV+

I've found a number of shows that were quite good and worth the cost. I wonder if Apple will continue to sink money into production just to keep it around or if it will morph into something more like other streaming services.
 
The way our household uses it, Apple Arcade is definitely a platform mostly for kids to use. I like not having to buy my kids games, or worry about in-app purchases driving them crazy, or any bad content in the games. They can just grab what they want from Apple Arcade, and when they send it to me for approval, I always make sure it's an Apple Arcade game and they can get it. Very rarely will they get something outside of there.

It's a nice add and one reason we get the Premiere plan, but they are right about it being more like an add-on then some kind of major platform. It's not a destination that most people go to for gaming. Apple really needs to hire some good people from the gaming industry to run their game business and push for better gaming hardware with software integration in their product lines.
 
A story as old as the ages: Apple does not understand games. Never has, never will.

I think I have seen half a dozen attempts by Apple to push gaming on their platforms over the years, and they all inevitably petered out and eventually failed.
 
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Seed money drives this entire thing. Lack of seed money leads to lack of many games... and certainly the AAA games.

Those platforms with abundant AAA games have a lucrative seed money model driving all of that. Think AppleTV+-like budget/focus/dedicated personnel put towards it... and you get at least some, high quality, AppleTV+-like game productions.

Little to no budget simply drives any good gaming away to greener pa$ture$ where they can get paid while developing great games and then again selling the finished game too.

"We're serious about gaming" seems to get slung every 6-8 years or so... but it always lacks the key cataly$t $upport & focus. This is never a "build it and they will come" model. See the great and wonderous Amiga story... which was about as close to that concept as possible. In 2024 (unlike 1988)- and really since the 2000s, the model that works is the model run by Sony, Microsoft & similar: put up the cash, buy whole studios, apply dedicated focus and ye shall get great games. Spend little to nothing and you don't get 'em.

It's really as $imple as that.
 
Existing game development has stagnated everywhere and the reason no one is playing these games is because they often suck or are just respins of existing concepts. Make some new innovative games that people actually want to play and there wont be issues.

Everyone wants to "charge for gaming" ...but nobody seems to want to do any investment and actual creative work to create great new games.

The gaming landscape, to me, seems as bad as it's been in recent memory
 
From the majority of comments here, I think people are conflating Apple Arcade with what they think of as gaming.

Forgetting that gaming is a large ecosystem with different players liking a wide range of games.

Thinking what they think of as gaming is the only type of gaming that exists or is acceptable.

It's clear that Apple are not focused on matching the type of expensive games found on premium gaming consoles.

Instead they're offering a premium service of a more casual games collection, which customers can dip in and out of using any of their Apple devices. There are no in-app purchases, no advertising, and a curated selection of options. They even install seamlessly, without the store-like confirmation.

Apple Arcade seems particularly well-suited to families with children, as well as those who like to game but do not want to invest heavily with money or time.
 
That’s because Apple is spending all the billions in Apple TV+.

And even then, I read that it gets less view time in one month than Netflix gets in one day.

Apple has more billions laying around doing nothing. For some reason, Apple opts to value the AppleTV+ investment enough to put a couple of billion towards it. For games, it's a pile of lip service with a "build it and they will come" mentality... as it is every time they spin "now we're serious about gaming."

A budget, focus and human resources towards gaming like they put towards AppleTV+ would go a very long way. And actually buying an accomplished game dev studio or two when those come up instead of always letting Sony/Microsoft/etc buy them would be a fast path to some exclusive AAAs with talent to keep developing more AAAs. That NEVER happens in spite of Apple often being cast as richest company in the world and slinging "Another record quarter..." over and over again.

Instead, Sony/Microsoft/etc are actually $eriou$ about gaming... putting money where their mouth is. If you want to gauge legit "we're serious," that's the ultimate, objective measure. Cue Rod Tidwell: "Show me the money! Show me the money!"
 
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In Apple's defense... they put a lot of time, energy, and money into making it possible to customize app icons in the ugliest way possible.

All jokes aside, it has become a pattern for them to heavily invest in new gimmicks while barely maintaining existing features and services (Siri, Pages, Numbers, Maps, Music, Fitnes, Arcade,...). And once everyone is publicly completely fed up with their BS, they offer something.

We had to ffing shame them into putting a calculator on the iPad.
 
This service should go in the bin, along with ATV+
Woah woah woah. Slow down. Apple TV+ has some pretty good series. They just lack content. Apple Arcade is just bad. But Apple TV+ just needs content from other studios like they did a few months ago when I could watch Fury and Blade Runner on the platform. Not to mention they are successful award wise too.
 
As an iOS game developer I wouldn't develop for Apple Arcade at all. They only favor select teams and even if you do get selected you get assigned huge commercial (pop) licenses. I did that for Gameboy Advance, when that's the only thing publishers would take and I have no desire to go back to that. The few 'artsy' games they promote would fare better outside that environment at price point.

Even if they do start making it more lucrative for devs to develop under, I firmly believe that games should not be subscription based! It's bad enough that they are no longer physical and just digital. But not owning your digital copy is just a rip off if you ask me. And having them free is even worse as it invites rip-off DLC Loot box marketing schemes. Not too mention crappy ads.

I've maintained my retro rpg at a price point on the Apple Market for over 10 years now and it suits me well. I can't wait until later this month to release my sequel and other iOS apps. I pretty much just pretend Apple Arcade doesn't exist, and I do just fine. 😉
 
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