MobileGamer.biz has spoken to a number of developers making games for Apple Arcade and Apple Vision Pro.
Recent reports have revealed that developers claim making games for Apple looks like an “abusive relationship”.
This information is published by Mobilegamer.biz. If you are interested in the state of the video game industry, you can check out our other articles here.
Developer Claims Making Games for Apple Is Like an “Abusive Relationship”
Final plug for this, in which sources told me:
– Apple Vision Pro struggles to run “complex games”
– Developing for it is “like going back in time 10 years” due to weak tech + support
– Working with Apple is like being in an “abusive relationship”https://t.co/EsjBatuzD4— Neil Long (@Neil_Long_) July 31, 2024
MobileGamer.biz has spoken to a number of developers making games for Apple Arcade and Apple Vision Pro.
Mobilegamer.biz sources describe a variety of issues claiming that Apple “doesn’t understand gamers” or the gaming industry. The main issue many developers see is the lack of contact or technical support.
“We can go weeks without hearing from Apple at all and their response time to emails is generally three weeks, if they respond at all,” one source told Mobilegamer.biz.
“We should be able to ask product, technical and commercial questions, but often half the Apple team doesn’t show 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 the knowledge to answer them or they can’t share that information for confidentiality reasons.”
This became apparent to developers working on the Apple Vision Pro, with one developer describing Apple’s technical support as “the worst I’ve ever seen anywhere.”
“Developing the Vision Pro is like going back 10 years because despite the advertised power and cost, this is not a machine built for gaming,” one source told Mobilegamer.biz. “Getting complex games to work on this platform is difficult.”
Apple then offered no financial incentives for studios to develop Apple Vision Pro. Other issues that arose were “discoverability” in Apple Arcade to the murky QA and update process.
Another developer later detailed the QA and localization process, which involved sending a thousand screenshots at once for every device aspect ratio and language: “My team was like, ‘There’s no way we’re going to do that.’”
On the positive side, several Mobilegamer.biz sources stated that Apple pays them well. However, one developer went six months without getting paid and nearly went out of business, while another developer was “blocked” by Apple representatives from pursuing payment.
“Apple Arcade Has No Direction”
While developers believe that Apple sees gaming as a “necessary evil,” Apple Arcade seems to lack direction.
One source said that Apple Arcade “feels like a bolt-on to Apple’s enterprise ecosystem” and isn’t “really supported within the company.”
“I honestly don’t think Apple understands games and gamers,” a source told Mobilegamer.biz. “I’m sure Apple Arcade is a great idea overall, but they need to be clear about where it’s going and what it’s for. That’s a question they need to answer and then act accordingly.”
Another source added, “Given their status as a big tech company, it feels like they treat developers as a necessary evil and we’ll do everything we can to please them for nothing, in the hopes that they’ll give us another project and a chance to screw us over again.”
“It’s like an abusive relationship where the abused person stays in the relationship in the hope that their partner will change and become the person you know they are.”
In February 2024, Mobilegamer.biz reported that developers were concerned about the future of Apple Arcade and described a “smell of death” surrounding the platform.
