Apple Arcade has been criticized by developers for reducing payments to developers and canceling projects due to shift to family-oriented titles.

It has been reported that Apple Arcade , a game subscription service provided by Apple, has been criticized by developers for lack of transparency regarding payments, reductions in payment amounts, project cancellations, etc.

Inside Apple Arcade: axed games, declining payouts, disillusioned studios – and an uncertain future - Mobilegamer.biz
https://mobilegamer.biz/inside-apple-arcade-axed-games-declining-payouts-disillusioned-studios-and-an-uncertain-future/

Apple Arcade criticized by developers for falling payouts and more
https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/26/apple-arcade-criticized/

Apple Aracde, announced in 2019, is a subscription service that allows you to play a huge number of titles as much as you want for a monthly fee of 900 yen including tax. The number of titles that can be played was approximately 100 at the time of announcement, but this has increased to over 200 at the time of article creation.

Apple announces its own subscription game service ``Apple Arcade'' - GIGAZINE

However, according to MobileGamer, a smartphone game-related news site, developers of titles distributed on Apple Arcade are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Apple Arcade.

One reason for this is the lack of transparency about how Apple pays them. One developer said, ``Apple has an opaque indicator called a 'qualifying session,' and payments are made based on it. However, no one knows what a qualifying session is. Probably because the game is being played. It probably has something to do with whether or not it was played, how many hours it was played, etc., but it's actually a black box.'

Additionally, payments to developers have been decreasing since around October 2020. When a new title is recorded on Apple Arcade, it seems that the reward is paid in advance, but MobileGamer reports that the advance fee is also being reduced.

Furthermore, even though Apple was actively participating in the development of one title, it seems that one day they suddenly lost contact due to a 'change in strategy.' The developer requested feedback from Apple and proposed re-adjusting the game to Apple's wishes, but Apple never responded to the proposal email.

It is unclear what this 'strategic change' is, but MobileGamers said, 'Apple will cancel a large number of projects around spring 2021, and will release versions of family-friendly titles already distributed on the App Store that exclude advertising and payment elements. has been registered with Apple Arcade.'

However, since MobileGamer has started distributing games for mobile terminals on Netflix, ``Apple is showing signs of competing with Netflix, so if Netflix continues distributing games for mobile terminals, the conditions for Apple Arcade will be There may be a possibility that this can be improved.'

Netflix's game distribution service appears to be free of charge and mobile-friendly - GIGAZINE

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• Discord | “Are you registered for “Apple Arcade”? What game did you play? ' | GIGAZINE
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