Apple Arcade
More mobile game developers have stepped forward to talk about their strained relationship with Apple, including new complaints about designing for the Apple Vision Pro.
In February, game developers began expressing frustration over Apple Arcade. They pointed out that while the service was initially profitable, Apple had begun decreasing upfront payments and the per-play “bonus pool.”
Additionally, the tech giant began to axe projects with little to no warning.
According to Mobilegamer.biz, developers continue to be unhappy with how Apple’s running its “pay once, play all you want” game subscription service. Developers point out how Apple has delayed payments — sometimes up to six months — which has put smaller studios in precarious situations.
Devs are also unhappy with Apple’s communication — or lack thereof.
“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 told Mobilegamer.biz.
Some have even called Apple’s tech support “miserable” and the worst they’d seen anywhere. Even the QA and update process is frustrating, prompting some developers to avoid updating their games altogether.
And now, with the release of the Apple Vision Pro, many game developers are growing increasingly frustrated as the headset struggles to run complex games. Apple engineers don’t seem to be able to offer any insight into how the Apple Vision Pro’s hardware or software works or “how essential middleware is meant to work with it.”
“We’re supposed to be able to ask product, technical and commercial questions, but often half the Apple team won’t turn 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 any knowledge on how to answer it, or are not able to share that info for confidentiality reasons,” a developer said.
While Apple expects indie developers to create new games for the Apple Vision Pro, the company does not provide compensation or make any promises to promote or market the game once it is finished.
It wasn’t always this way, though. Many developers said that Apple Arcade used to be significantly more profitable. Some developers point out that they wouldn’t exist without Apple Arcade.
Many developers note this is likely because the tech giant sees mobile games and game developers as a “necessary evil.” The company understands that gaming accounts for a significant portion of its profits under its services umbrella but isn’t sure what direction to head.
“Honestly, I think Apple doesn’t understand games and gamers,” says one developer. “I believe Apple Arcade is a good idea in general, but they need a clear goal for where it should go and what it is for. That’s a question they need to answer and then act accordingly.”
One particularly frustrated developer spoke out against Apple Arcade, saying, “It’s like an abusive relationship where the abused stays in the relationship hoping the other partner will change and become the person you know they could be.”
In April, Apple executive Alex Rofman said Apple Arcade was not set up to make the company money, but also insisted that game developers were getting fairly compensated.
