Video games on iPhone: game over for Apple

© Apple

It has become a habit on Apple's side. During its keynotes, the Cupertino company regularly announces that AAA games will be available on its latest devices, in this case the iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max and high-end iPads.

If we are to believe an analysis carried out by Mobilegamer.biz, these ports are clearly not a success, and that's where a euphemism. To see more clearly, our colleagues used data from Appfigures concerning the latest headlines launched.

For example, fewer than 3,000 people would have paid the $50 needed to play Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Mirage on iPhone. The game was downloaded 123,000 times for a paltry revenue of $138,000.

A market doomed to failure?

Same trend for Resident Evil 4 which was downloaded 357,000 times, for an estimated turnover of 208,000 dollars . Resident Evil Village attracted only 370,000 downloads for $92,000 in revenue. Finally, Death Stranding earned $212,000 for just 10,600 downloads.

These figures are supported by Appmagic's estimates, another data company that performed the same type of calculations. However, she is a little more optimistic and expects a maximum revenue of $420,000 for one of these games: Resident Evil Village.

Quoted by our colleagues, Randy Nelson, head of Appfigures studies, perfectly summed up the situation:

I Fear that even if consumers realize they can play Assassin's Creed Mirage on their phones and tablets, the $50 game unlock will end the decision-making process. Consumers who use Apple's latest hardware may also be more inclined to own current-generation gaming consoles capable of playing those games in 4K with theater-quality sound for the same price… ; or less.

This does not prevent publishers from believing that this market has a future. Recently, Ubisoft confirmed that its next Assassin’s Creed Shadows would be available on iPad. To go further, we invite you to read this article which gives a nuanced assessment of Apple Arcade and presents the criticisms of certain developers four years after the launch of the service.

What to remember:

• AAA games ported to iPhone and iPad are struggling to find buyers
• They currently generate very limited revenue
• Publishers, such as Ubisoft, are nevertheless continuing their momentum

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