Apple Arcade is doing some nipping and tucking to drive engagement and participation up with some measures that might seem counterproductive. Apple has cut contracts with several games in development for the gaming service.
Apple Arcade is a mobile gaming subscription service from the people who brought you all of the iProducts, Apple. The service costs only $4.99 a month and gives players access to the 120+ games in the catalogue with new titles launching each month. Launched back in September of 2019, Apple Arcade was praised for its lack of in-game purchasing in order to advance in games but still hasn’t really picked up, because of its lack of catchy games.
The problem Apple Arcade is seeing is a lack of subscriber engagement after the first month of free trial—which is due in large part to the fact that Apple Arcade isn’t famous for any of its games. There’s no title yet that is synonymous with Apple Arcade to lure players in. So, Apple is shuffling some things around and going for quality over quantity. They are hoping that by focusing on games that are likely to grab the audience’s attention they’ll be better equipped to keep gamers coming back for more. Rather than finding a hidden gem, Apple Arcade is determined to publish the next big viral thing that will draw people to their service and keep them—and their $5—around month after month.
Unlimited play for just five bucks a month is great, especially for people who prefer mobile gaming to PC or console, but without that hit game it’s more or less a waste. Trimming the fat and looking at what gamers want is a smart move for Apple. Focusing on what the people want and taking it from there is almost always a recipe for success. There are a ton of games in this arcade, arguably something for everyone, but so far not the right thing for everyone. Apple Arcade is a great gaming option for the price because it can be shared across any device logged in to the same Apple account, but there has to be something worth paying for.
Source: Bloomberg