At the big event it held yesterday, Apple excited gamers by announcing that multiple console games will be released on the iPhone 15 Pro in the coming months. Later this year, you will be able to download and play Death Stranding, Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 on your phone. Also early next year, Ubisoft will bring the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Mirage to the App Store.
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Although this development is exciting, we are sure that it is not something that Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox companies need to worry about. Going back a bit, the arrival of four modern AAA games on iOS is truly surprising, as Apple has never fully committed to mobile gaming. Of course, the iPhone maker is more than happy to take a 30% commission from every app developer who sells games and in-game items on the App Store, but how much effort is Apple putting into marketing Arcade?
Moreover, premium games are on the brink of extinction on mobile platforms. When you take a look at the top-grossing iOS games on the App Store, every game in the top 25 is available for free download with in-app purchases.
Although there are exceptions, such as the continued success of best-selling console and PC games such as Minecraft, Stardew Valley and Grand Theft Auto on the App Store, the number of premium games that generate revenue is quite small. It’s a bit doubtful that Resident Evil Village and Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be able to reverse this trend, no matter how excellent their iOS ports are.
Additionally, it’s not entirely clear whether these console-quality games will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The A17 Pro chip may be a significant upgrade, but if these games can’t be played on older hardware, Apple will be leaving many gamers behind. It is also unclear whether these games will be playable with touch controls or whether iPhone owners will need a third-party controller.
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The lack of details is further evidence that gaming still isn’t a real priority for Apple. That doesn’t mean a port of Resident Evil 4 should take precedence over the iPhone 15 launch, but the fact that the latest Assassin’s Creed game is coming to iOS just months after hitting PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC is a pretty big deal. However, we have not been able to get a release date, a price or any other details.
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