Epic Games Removes 'Infinity Blade' Trilogy From App Store

[yAak]

Translation: We weren't making any money off of them in comparison to everything else, and our devs want to work on something more current.

I mean seriously, who wants to upgrade 5 year old code and assets to run on the latest Unreal engine? Too complicated for an intern to do, too time consuming for it to be worth an experienced dev's time.

Of course, they wouldn't NEED to upgrade it if iOS compatibility weren't a moving target, so everyone's complaints about that aren't wrong. It is pretty unfortunate in terms of iconic games like this just disappearing.

Epic should "open source"** the assets and projects so passionate fans could maintain a fully-free version that Epic publishes.


** They'd probably have to put some form of license restriction on it to prevent people from shipping paid clones on their own.

 

[mi7chy]

Repetitively boring hack and slash. No loss.

 

[guerro]

Epic Games today announced that its Infinity Blade role-playing game trilogy has been removed from the App Store.

In a blog post, the video game studio said "it has become increasingly difficult for our team to support the Infinity Blade series at a level that meets our standards," adding that the trilogy "will always hold a special place" in its history.

Along with the three Infinity Blade games, all in-app purchase options have been removed, according to Epic Games. iPhone users who already purchased the games will remain able to play them, and re-download them from the App Store using the same Apple ID that was originally used, for the foreseeable future.

The news was first reported by Eli Hodapp at MacRumors sister site TouchArcade, who described the trilogy as "an absolute App Store staple" that "even the harshest critics of mobile gaming could admit were, at minimum, pretty good."

Infinity Blade is a gesture-based fighting game that debuted on the App Store in December 2010 following an on-stage preview at an Apple event three months prior. At the time, TouchArcade reviewed the game's console-like graphics as "the best we've seen so far on the App Store," raising the bar for mobile games.

Infinity Blade II followed in November 2011, while Infinity Blade III was released in September 2013. Both sequels also received stage time at Apple events, and remained critically acclaimed in 2018, despite the latest title being five years old.

"Premium games eventually losing the support of their developers then slowly falling into obscurity before being removed from the App Store isn't really a new phenomenon," said Hodapp, "but for it to happen to Infinity Blade seems like an incredibly terrible signal for the overall health of the App Store."

Epic Games now has a multi-billion-dollar valuation thanks to the success of its smash-hit battle royale game Fortnite, so the company certainly has the cash flow needed to keep the Infinity Blade trilogy alive, but they are evidently moving on.

Over the next month, Epic Games said it will continue to support Infinity Blade III with updated Clash Mobs and other surprises. It has also made its Infinity Blade sticker pack available for free in the App Store for iMessage. And it looks like the Infinity Blade sword will live on as a weapon in Fortnite.

Article Link: Epic Games Removes 'Infinity Blade' Trilogy From App Store

Not sure if good or bad.

 

[decafjava]

Fortnite has ruined Epic. They've literally poured all of their resources in to that heap of **** game... and for what? to crank out a bunch of idiotic skins with no meaningful content. Meanwhile, UT is left to rot on the vine for over a year with no further development in sight... it's been in pre-alpha for going on 5 years. They've put all of their eggs in one basket and once the 10-14 year olds that play Fortnite grow up they will be losing their revenue.

not to mention I have been hearing about another game Spyjiyx for a few years but it seems to be stuck in development hell.

 

[Juicy Box]

This is one reason why gaming on the iOS really sucks.

It’s not really Apple.

I didn't bring up Apple and I am not necessarily blaming them, it is more of a digital versus physical media issue.

Check out this post here:

This is one of the biggest reasons why iOS gaming sucks compared to console or PC gaming. At least for me, it is a fatal flaw for mobile gaming.

I am not a gamer, but I used to be. I like to go back and play my old consoles from the 80's and 90's and play old, but good Mac games.

Most of the iOS games are very disposable by nature, but a few of them are pretty good and worth replaying after a while. Will this even be possible after a few years?

Why would a developer waste time and money on games that no one wants to play on like iPad etc..

I am not saying that a developer should keep putting resources on a game that is no longer making them money.

Although, I am saying that this wasn't really an issue in the past, but is not becoming a big one due to the design of the iOS and the App Store.

Take Blizzard for example, they have been making Mac games for a long time. One of their IPs is the Warcraft RTS games. WC, WCII, and WCIII were some of my favorite all time games, I owned them back when they were released. AFAIK, they are not currently supporting WC and WCII. But, I can play them today using the old software and my old Macs.

If I lose or brake my old game CDs, I can go search around and find them from somewhere. If my old Macs break, I can search and buy old Macs to play them. They could also be played with emulation and VM.

Using the iOS, it is no longer up to me whether I can play old apps purchased on the App Store. If the Devos pull a game from the App Store, I no longer have access to it. I can't buy it from another source, I can't buy an old iDevice to play it on. Even emulation might not work if I can't access it from anywhere.

The best I can do is keep the apps I have on an iDevice that I never update and hope I never break it or it stops working.

That is one of the main reasons that gaming sucks on the iOS.

 

[Kabeyun]

There is a limited market for any game. 7-8 years is an extremely long run for a game title. The fact that they were still supporting it speaks volumes. I’m sure new sales are minuscule at this point.

Exactly what I’m saying. I don’t believe the loss of this one commenter’s pet app means anything broader for the “health” of the App Store.

I think they meant the health of the library of Apps? At least that is how I took it.

If Devos are quick to drop support for older apps, and only keeping newer/money making apps alive, it isn't really good news for someone that uses the App Store for storage of their old apps, especially games.

Quick? It lasted almost a decade. Solid run, now done and moving on. And plenty of marvelous, innovative apps & games dropping all the time. I don’t see an App Store “health” problem at all, let alone one indicated by the loss of Infinity Blade.

 

[Abazigal]

Apple has never been serious about gaming. Look at how abysmal their Mac lineup is. Underclocked, poor thermals. No serious company developes games for Macs

Apple is serious about gaming on their iOS platform, because that’s where they sell the most units. It just happens that the design of mobile devices tend to favour certain type of games over others.

 

[rafark]

The first one was showcased for the iPhone 4, then the sequel was shown off for the 5 and the third game with the 5s. Infinity Blade was an absolute staple at iPhone keynotes. Hell, when Jobs previewed the iPhone 4 they showed a rough version of the first game and also shipped a downloadable beta that let you walk around the game’s town (sans enemies or other characters—it was like a ghost town). After the demo using the A4, Jobs looked out at the crowd and was like “that’s running on a phone!”

Great series. Lot of fond memories.

epic citadel. loved it.

 

[Juicy Box]

Quick? It lasted almost a decade. Solid run, now done and moving on.

Quick when compared to other media types.

You want to find a popular NES game like SM3 or Zelda 2? An old Mac game like Sim Towers, or Full Throttle? There are countless ways to find and play these games.

The same cannot be said about Infinity Blade and many other iOS games and apps. Once it leaves the App Store, it will most likely be gone forever.

I don’t see an App Store “health” problem at all, let alone one indicated by the loss of Infinity Blade.

I feel the opposite, I think the App Store has a serious "health" problem for reasons above and the loss of Infinity Blade really shows that no app or game is safe.

Think of it this way, if you bought a bunch of physical console games, and stored them on a shelf at your home, but one day the devo of the game showed up and wanted to take their IPs back because it had a "solid run" and that they are "now done and moving on" would that be okay with you?

I doubt anyone would be okay with it. But, that is essentially happening with digital libraries.

 

[B4U]

We, gamers, have to unite and stand against the crappy freemium games business model.
Otherwise, it will be full of them in the future.

 

[shadowbird423]

I buy a lot of digital media, but these days I'm buying certain paper books and rare movies on disc; at least that way the people who sold them to me can't force their way into my home and set them on fire.

Please don't give AOL-Time Warner-PepsiCo-Viacom-Halliburton-Skynet-Toyota-Trader Joe's any ideas.

 

[MacBH928]

The Fortnite Battle Royale game is free, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

You must have misunderstood me
I know its free, I can't believe although its free they still making a ton of money selling skins and so

 

[Solomani]

Conclusion: Our newer game Fortnite makes 20 times more revenue. Play Fortnite.

 

[Michael Goff]

You must have misunderstood me
I know its free, I can't believe although its free they still making a ton of money selling skins and so

Then why did you bring up the 60$ price tag that doesn’t exist?

 

[decafjava]

Conclusion: Our newer game Fortnite makes 20 times more revenue. Play Fortnite.

I downloaded it, played it a bit or tried, then promptly deleted it.

 

[kultschar]

Some good points here about iOS killing paid apps.

Im annoyed I cant play or download the classic Monkey Island despite paying for it on the App Store

 

[nottorp]

Hmm Infinity Blade II was the last game I bought on the app store. Then they all switched to free to play grindfests and I simply stopped looking.

 

[decafjava]

Hmm Infinity Blade II was the last game I bought on the app store. Then they all switched to free to play grindfests and I simply stopped looking.

Well IB3 wasn't free to play and there are a few good games like that still on - but they are lost in a sea of freemium yes.

 

[nottorp]

Well IB3 wasn't free to play and there are a few good games like that still on - but they are lost in a sea of freemium yes.

Yup, I keep asking people how to find real games on iOS but no one can give an answer...

IB3 I skipped because IB2 had an easily exploitable mechanic that enabled me to cheese through all of the content in a few hours... and then iForgot about it until today.

 

[decafjava]

Yup, I keep asking people how to find real games on iOS but no one can give an answer...

IB3 I skipped because IB2 had an easily exploitable mechanic that enabled me to cheese through all of the content in a few hours... and then iForgot about it until today.

I find looking at the app store tabs, like top paid games is a good indicator. I like Alto's Odyssey as my favourite endless runner, and Pocket Build as a Minecraft type game without in-app purchases as good choices. Lifeline, a text adventure series is good too.

 

[nottorp]

I find looking at the app store tabs, like top paid games is a good indicator. I like Alto's Odyssey as my favourite endless runner, and Pocket Build as a Minecraft type game without in-app purchases as good choices. Lifeline, a text adventure series is good too.

There is a "Top Paid" now? Different from the "Top Grossing" that includes gems of Farmville quality? I've really given up on the App Store completely

Too bad most sold isn't an indication of quality either. But it's better than nothing.

 

[Kabeyun]

Think of it this way, if you bought a bunch of physical console games, and stored them on a shelf at your home, but one day the devo of the game showed up and wanted to take their IPs back because it had a "solid run" and that they are "now done and moving on" would that be okay with you?

I doubt anyone would be okay with it. But, that is essentially happening with digital libraries.

Setting aside the flawed analogy, that’s not what’s happening:

iPhone users who already purchased the games will remain able to play them, and re-download them from the App Store using the same Apple ID that was originally used, for the foreseeable future.

 

[nottorp]

Setting aside the flawed analogy, that’s not what’s happening:

Good joke. It will be available as long as you have an iOS old enough to run them... which won't last long.

 

[Kabeyun]

Good joke. It will be available as long as you have an iOS old enough to run them... which won't last long.

I’m not joking. It’s what the article says, which is what Epic says. Apple doesn’t owe it to you to support legacy games forever, nor does Epic, nor do those facts represent some sort of canary in the coal mine for the iOS App Store. And I certainly don’t hold some grudge against Apple for not being able to play Dark Castle since 2001.

 

[Juicy Box]

Setting aside the flawed analogy, that’s not what’s happening:

Just one iOS update could break the game, and it is gone forever, unless Epic decides to support it for existing users.

Also, if someone wanted to play Infinity Blade, but has not purchased it yet, they are unable to due so. This is unlike most physical media that can be re-sold and be used by first time players decades after it was released.

Besides, there are other iOS games that were removed from the app store, or ones that an OS update made them unplayable. It is happening, I think this is one of the first high profile games that is being removed, that is why people are noticing.

It will be available as long as you have an iOS old enough to run them... which won't last long.

Exactly.

Apple doesn’t owe it to you to support legacy games forever, nor does Epic,

We agree on this, but this is the problem I am referring to. This wasn't an issue with physical media, but it is becoming more and more apparent that digital media is not forever.

nor do those facts represent some sort of canary in the coal mine for the iOS App Store.

I think they do, and I am not alone. There is a shelf life on digital media, but the user (or potential user) has no idea when that date is.

I certainly don’t hold some grudge against Apple for not being able to play Dark Castle since 2001.

Why can you not play it?