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Apple has shifted its approach for Apple Arcade, and has scrapped contracts with studios which were producing games that wouldn’t secure suitable levels of “engagement” with the service.
The news comes from Bloomberg, and the report claims to have spoken with sources close to the situation. Apparently, in April, an Apple Arcade creative producer communicated to a handful of developers that their upcoming games wouldn’t generate the level of “engagement” that Apple wants. Apple Arcade is priced at a monthly charge of $4.99, and affords access to a lot of interesting and unique mobile titles. Little Orpheus is one of these, as well as Sayonara Wild Hearts, Assemble with Care, and What the Golf?.
The service does not permit ads nor in-app purchases, and allows up to six people on the same account. Though there’s a variety of games released every month, the data shows that subscriber growth has been less than the company expected at this stage. Moreover, the service has recently started offering a second free trial month, which would suggest that users are using their free month and dipping out when it expires.
This shift towards increasing “engagement” at the cost of creative projects is dispiriting. How do you define “engagement” in the first instance? Is a game that you play a lot “engaging,” even if you don’t rate it very highly? What about a game that is only an hour long, but it leaves a lasting impression, and it becomes one of your favourite games of all time? Developer Jan Willem Nijman, who worked on Minit, weighed in on the discussion.
“Replayability should be an artistic choice, but making a short game like we did with Minit is a big risk, especially with the shift towards algorithmic curation,” they explained. “You get less organic ‘see what your friends are playing’ coverage, shorter streams, no video series, less playtime (sometimes tied to revenue share), etc.” They elaborated that a game that sees people spending hundreds of hours in it is a “logical business move,” even if the hours spent are comparatively shallow. “There’s nothing wrong with a binge-worthy game every now and then, but when that’s the only viable option we’ve hit a dead end,” they concluded. “People should be able to make good short games with small teams, stay healthy, and get paid. It’s not too much to ask for.”
Apple supplied its own statement to the Bloomberg report, and said that it will react to user feedback when it comes to the future of the service. “Apple Arcade has redefined what a gaming service can be, putting unlimited play at the fingertips of subscribers and their families across all their Apple devices,” read the statement. “We are proud to have launched the first-ever mobile game subscription service that now features more than 120 games, many of which are award-winning and widely celebrated for their artistry and gameplay. The vision has always been to grow and evolve the Apple Arcade catalog, and we can’t wait for our users to try the games developers are working on now.”
