Six months on from its release, it seems as if Apple Arcade's momentum has already slowed so much that it is almost at a standstill.
In a world where mobile gaming has become a free-to-play, pay-to-win, microtransaction-ridden nightmare, Apple provided a glimmer of hope in 2019 when the company announced a subscription service called Apple Arcade. Instead of games that demand players pay money to progress, Apple Arcade is a monthly subscription service. The service gave players access to exclusive games which are free of microtransactions and ads for $4.99 per month.
There was a lot of deserved hype surrounding Apple Arcade upon release. Especially since some of its 50+ titles had been developed by big names such as Sega and Ubisoft. Six months later and that hype has dropped off significantly. Apple is keeping details about Arcade's numbers and performance close to its chest and doesn't seem to be that bothered about advertising the service or adding to it in a way that makes sense.
New titles have been added to Apple Arcade since release, but there is no rhyme nor reason to when they get added. They also just show up, almost as if it is just as much of a surprise to Apple as it is to its service's subscribers. It would do well to take inspiration from other game subscription services such as PS Now and Xbox Game Pass. Make a big deal about new additions ahead of time, and advertise them right up until release day.
Some more high profile additions might boost the service's popularity and numbers too. Rayman and Sonic are already present in Apple Arcade. More from those franchises or landing another big name could really do wonders. Another free trial would inevitably bring eyeballs back to the product too, even if it's just for seven days. That would be more than enough to get people hooked providing Apple puts the effort in.
The trouble is, all of this stinks like something Apple has already started to give up on. The reason for Apple Arcade was to test whether there's a market capable of dethroning the mess that mobile gaming has become. Six months in, it might already be apparent that it can't be done, at least not this way. No way is Apple making more money from subscriptions than it is from regular mobile games, and without more of a vested effort, it never will.
Source: PocketGamer.biz