Last October, Apple announced the upcoming arrival of several AAA games on iPhone. Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Death Stranding and Resident Evil 4 were notably expected on the Apple brand’s devices, which was intriguing. Unfortunately, despite quite impressive performances in some cases, it seems that the players are not there.
AAA games on iPhone would be a flop
According to calculations by mobilegamer.biz, based on estimates from Appfigures, fewer than 3,000 people have paid $49.99 to play Assassin’s Creed Mirage since its launch on June 6, even though the title has been downloaded about 123,000 times for a gross revenue of $138,000.
In comparison, the game Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, designed specifically for mobile devices, was downloaded 1.9 million times for an estimated gross revenue of just under $1 million.
The other games available, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding, follow the same trend with few players willing to pay to purchase the full game.
It is also mentioned that AppMagic, another data company, has slightly more optimistic estimates, including approximately $221,000 in gross revenue generated by Assassin’s Creed Mirage for 279,000 downloads.
A platform not suitable for AAA games?
According to AppMagic’s content manager, Andrei Zubov, these figures are nevertheless far from being a success, especially in comparison to the sales achieved by the different titles on their preferred platforms.
He also explains that the most successful “high-end” mobile games are typically indie games that “prioritize unique art styles over high-end graphics” and are more suited to short gaming sessions.
When looking at the most successful high-end mobile games, we see that many of them originated as indie titles. These games generally feature simpler controls, favor unique art styles over high-end graphics, and are suited to shorter gaming sessions. These are the usual attributes of successful free-to-play mobile games.
In addition, these games are usually offered at a sale price of between $5 and $10, amounts considered “more in line” with the consumption habits of mobile players.
It’s also worth remembering that the AAA games mentioned above are only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, as well as the most expensive iPad versions. It’s therefore difficult to reach a wide audience when only the most expensive devices on the market are compatible.
Let us know in the comments if you’ve tried any of its games on iPhone, and what you thought of the experience. If the technical prowess is to be commended, we must believe that the mobile market is not yet quite ready to embrace the arrival of AAA titles.
