And the management of the Cupertino company, apparently, does not really like games.
The specialized publication Mobilegamer.biz interviewed mobile game developers about their experience with the Apple Arcade subscription service. The latter, we recall, provides users with access to a library of premium projects. As it turned out, things are not going well with payments there, and in general, Apple’s attitude surprises developers with its unpredictability. But first things first.
The developers made it clear to journalists that in 2019, when the service just launched, payments to them were quite generous. Moreover, we are talking about both the initial “benefits” and subsequent ones that were made after the release for each launch. A representative of one of the interviewed development teams even noted that all games released on Apple Arcade in the first few years remained profitable from day one. Moreover, the fact of the existence of some studios was entirely considered to be the merit of Apple Arcade and its generous (at first) payment system.
On the other hand, many developers of mobile gaming projects called Apple an unpredictable and incredibly demanding partner. The volume of payments, according to Mobilegamer.biz, began to decline in October 2020, and this trend can still be seen. Advance payments have also been reduced, so the creators of mobile projects no longer consider partnerships with the Cupertino company and their subscription service a reliable source of income.
There is uncertainty surrounding Apple's payouts, and it is incredibly difficult to get information from Apple about the reason for the reduction in payouts. The company, they say, answers evasively, using vague language and refers to some opaque indicator called “qualification session.” That is, bonuses are paid based on this parameter, but the developers do not know what exactly this session represents. It presumably relates to whether the game was launched, how long a person played it, and how often they returned to it.
The fact that the Apple Arcade service is being rebooted in 2021 deserves special indignation from the developers. Then the Cupertines canceled many projects, which angered their partners. Apple did not really explain the essence of the new rules to content authors and began to completely ignore individual commands. In one of these cases, at first the Cupertino team from the Arcade team praised the studio’s game in every possible way, but then abruptly lost interest in it precisely because of the new policy. A representative of this development studio offered to make the necessary changes, but Apple simply stopped responding to letters.
The game promotion system in Apple Arcade also raises questions. Some developers had to literally beg the Yabloko team for the game to appear on the Arcade tab. And the head of another studio said that during a conversation with representatives of the subscription service, he got the impression that the company itself did not know in which direction to take the service. “There was a smell of death,” one of the developers eloquently spoke about working with Apple’s gaming division.
According to incoming insiders addressed to the editors of Mobilegamer.biz, Apple may decide on another relaunch due to the emergence of a competitor in the form of Netflix. Let us remind you that the streaming giant now has its own subscription gaming service, which so far suits content creators. Unlike Apple, Netflix only pays for hosting projects on the site, but rewards developers with fairly generous bonuses. Developers find such content more successful because it is easier to work with. But here you need to understand that Netflix is doing with its gaming division exactly the same as Apple did in 2019 – that is, we are talking about a frantic pumping of content. How long Netflix can maintain this pace while maintaining payouts to game creators is an open question.
At the end of the conversation with Mobilegamer.biz, many developers expressed hope that direct competition with Netflix will force Apple to reconsider the way it operates. The latter sometimes cause not only bewilderment, but even fear. Sources say that Apple is quite vindictive towards studios if they decide to make deals with other services like Netflix. Finally, Yabloko cannot yet boast of understanding the value of games as interactive entertainment. One of the interviewed developers expressed confidence that there is “no passion and respect” for games among Apple’s top management. And it's strange.