In an interview with Polygon, Apple’s new head of App Store Worldwide, Carson Oliver, discussed the company’s broader gaming ambitions, the growing number of premium iPhone games, and where Apple Arcade fits into its strategy. Here’s what he said.
New App Store chief talks App Store gaming
Apple’s ambitions to be seen as a proper gaming platform owner aren’t exactly new. Over the years, the company has repeatedly attempted to attract major game developers and convince players to take gaming on its devices more seriously, with varying degrees of success.
And those efforts show. As Apple has repeatedly highlighted during WWDC keynotes and product announcements, the company has introduced hardware-accelerated ray tracing, made significant improvements to its Metal graphics framework, and developed tools that make it easier to port PC and console games to its platforms.
Early last week, shortly after Carson Oliver’s promotion to vice president of the App Store was reported, Apple announced Indie Games Week, highlighting seven new and upcoming games for iPhone and iPad, including:
- Sifu
- Vampire Crawlers
- No Man’s Sky
- Little Kitty, Big City
- 9 Kings
- Dome Keeper
- Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall
In light of that, Polygon conducted an email interview with Oliver, who shared some interesting details about the state of gaming on the App Store and Apple’s plans for the future.
Oliver told Polygon:
“We’ve seen incredible growth of games coming to the App Store, in general, with more premium games releasing on the App Store this year than last. […] While many of those are indies, we’re also seeing more console and PC franchises coming to mobile, as it is a burgeoning audience for those games. These seven games featured in Indie Games Week capture where gaming on iPhone and iPad is heading: incredible diversity and creativity with no compromises on quality.”
Oliver also touched on the technical improvements Apple has made over the years, some of which we mentioned above, as well as the role that younger generations of players have had in shaping the mobile gaming market.
According to Oliver, “an entire generation of players” grew up with an iPhone as their first gaming device, rather than a traditional console or PC.
He added:
“These users embrace direct touch as their primary controller, making iPhone and iPad the ultimate canvas for indie innovation.”
As for Apple Arcade, and how it fits into Apple’s broader gaming strategy alongside the growing number of premium games launching directly on the App Store, Oliver told Polygon it comes down to giving game developers more flexibility:
“We want to give developers a trusted place to reach users around the world, support them at each stage, and help them build successful businesses. […] To achieve that goal, we provide developers with flexible business model options. That means a breakthrough phenomenon like Balatro can thrive as a premium download, and it can also find a home as part of the Apple Arcade service. The important thing is that we give developers the flexibility to make the best choice for every game and players the freedom to play how they want.”
To read Oliver’s full interview with Polygon, which also touches on App Store discoverability, and the types of games finding success on Apple’s platforms, follow this link.
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