Apple, one of the biggest tech companies in the world, is allegedly treating some of the most dedicated game developers for iOS platforms like a second-rate afterthought. Some have even gone as far as saying working with the tech giant is like being in an abusive relationship.
A scathing report from mobilegamer.biz, citing multiple game developers who are part of the company’s Apple Arcade program, outlines the tepid, standoffish approach the iPhone maker has had with games. Despite paying developers big money to make games for their monthly subscription service, Apple’s relationships with them have deteriorated with time.
These developers cited a lack of communication on behalf of the company that results in unanswered emails for weeks or even months. Regular meetings were poorly attended by Apple staff, who were often unprepared to talk games when they did show up. The developers described receiving unsatisfactory tech support for Apple’s hardware, and found it hard for their apps to be discovered on the App Store. When they brought those critiques to Apple, they said they were ignored.
Perhaps the most damning claim in the report is Apple’s failure to pay their developers on time. Several developers told the outlet that while royalty payments came promptly at the start of their relationship, those payments now trickle in sporadically. One developer said they waited six months to receive payments and nearly went out of business as a result.
“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,” one developer said.
This isn’t even the first time Apple’s treatment of game creators has been called out. Earlier this year, mobilegamer.biz also reported on developers' general unhappiness with Apple despite crafting some of the best games on the platform. Developers described a severe dropoff in payouts, the sudden cancellation of projects and deals with developers, and even vindictiveness towards developers who release titles for Netflix’s competing games subscription service.
Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While it may not be on everyone’s radar, Apple Arcade is a fantastic little platform. As the mobile game market’s been inundated with free-to-play cash grabs, clones of more popular games, and outright bad games, Apple’s dedicated gaming subscriptions have given players an oasis away from the glut of garbage flooding the vanilla app store. For just $5 a month, games like Slay The Spire and Hello Kitty Island Adventure are available in their entirety, ad-free. Even classics like Ridiculous Fishing and indie darlings like Stardew Valley are there for subscribers to revisit or discover for the first time.
But despite being one of the best deals in all of gaming, its value has felt more and more like an industry secret. It’s rare to see Apple give the service the same spotlight it does its other multimedia subscriptions like Apple TV or even Apple Fitness+ during its annual press conferences. According to developers, that’s reflected in how the program is run in general. One source told mobilegamer.biz that “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.” They also said Apple “100% does not understand gamers” or who’s playing what on their own platform.
While that might be the developer’s perception from the inside, I don’t think Apple does a great job of hiding its reluctance about gaming from the customer's point of view. Despite being one of the biggest video game platforms in the world, Apple has always seemed like it wants to keep the games industry at arm's length.
The company offers the ability to play App Store games on Apple TV, but it won’t release an official Apple controller to support the feature and the ecosystem more officially. It will dedicate an entire portion of its iPhone press conference to the arrival of AAA console games on iOS devices, but will stop short of marketing them in the App Store the way they will more proven mobile hits like Call Of Duty: Warzone and Roblox. Even when big mainstream hits like Baldur’s Gate 3 debut on Apple devices, the rest of the company outside doesn’t seem to have much interest in relaying how big a deal that should be to general audiences.
One of the most telling decisions is Apple’s approach to gaming on its newest device. And despite most of the VR and AR market being pushed along primarily by game developers, Apple seemingly ignored the medium entirely for its pricey foray into the niche space.
“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,” one developer said.
Apple’s support of gaming has always felt like a happy accident. Something it’s happy to tout when it’s convenient, but an afterthought by others. A trend that it can hop on and pull back from when it has more important things to show the public. While the company should be applauded for using its trillions in cash reserved to support talented developers in ways most publishers can’t, it's inexcusable for Apple to drop the ball when it comes to ensuring that support goes beyond writing checks.
At a time when the industry is having its first real reckoning over the treatment of the working career game developer, it's a shame that one of the richest companies in the world can’t lead by example. Hopefully, a spotlight on its shortcomings will result in some actual change this time around.
