Mobile Game Developers Complain About Tense Relations With Apple

Mobile game developers complain about strained relationships with Apple (photo: x @InsideMacintosh)

JAKARTA - Several mobile game developers have spoken out about tense relations with Apple, where new complaints about designs for Apple Vision Pro.

In February, game developers began expressing their dissatisfaction with Apple Arcade. They highlighted that although the service was initially profitable, Apple began to reduce prepaid payments and "bonus pools" per game. In addition, the tech company is starting to cancel projects without adequate notification.

According to Mologamer.biz, developer dissatisfaction with Apple's way of running subscription services is "paid once, playing as much as possible" is still ongoing. Developers show that Apple often delays payments Sometimes for up to six months which puts small studios in difficult situations.

The developers are also dissatisfied with Apple's deemed inadequate communications. "We could take days without hearing any news from Apple at all and their general response time to emails is three weeks, if they respond at all," one developer told Mobilegamer.biz.

Some even call Apple's technical support the "terrible" and the worst they've ever experienced. QA processes and updates also trigger frustration, prompting some developers to avoid their game updates altogether.

Now, with the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, many game developers are increasingly frustrated that the headset is struggling to run complex games. Apple engineers seem unable to provide insight into how Apple Vision Pro's hardware or software works or "how important middleware is meant to work with it."

"We should be able to ask product, technical and commercial questions, but often half of Apple's teams are not present and when they come, they know nothing and can't answer our questions, either because they don't have the knowledge to answer them, or can't share the information for reasons of confidentiality," said one developer.

While Apple expects indie developers to create new games for Apple Vision Pro, the company does not provide compensation or promises to promote or market the game once it's done.

In the past, many developers said that Apple Arcade was much more profitable. Some developers noted that they probably wouldn't exist without Apple Arcade.

Many developers note that this is likely because the tech giant sees mobile games and game developers as "the necessary crimes." The company understands that gaming accounts for significant parts of their profits under the service umbrella but is unsure of the direction to take.

"To be honest, I don't think Apple understands games and gamers," said one developer. "I believe Apple Arcade is a good idea in general, but they need to have a clear goal of where it is headed and what its function is. That is a question they need to answer and then act accordingly."

One of the highly frustrated developers stated that the relationship with Apple Arcade is similar to "an abusive relationship in which victims remain in the relationship hopes other partners will change and become the ones they know could actually be."

In April, Apple executive Alex Rofman said that Apple Arcade was not designed to make money for the company, but also confirmed that game developers were getting fair compensation.