According to the study carried out by the site Mobile Gamer, which is based on estimates from Appfigures, there are very few users interested in this type of large production on mobile, especially when it comes to taking out the bank card and validate a purchase of up to 50 euros for Assassin’s Creed Mirage. Fewer than 3,000 iPhone users have spent this amount since the release of this port on June 6, for an estimated number of downloads of 123,000. Available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and other high-end iPads, the game can be downloaded for free in order to present its prologue as a playable demo before asking the player to checkout.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is not an isolated case. The other major productions from salon machines are Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 et Death Stranding Director’s Cut, all highlighted during Apple keynotes over the last 12 months, arouse the same indifference among iOS players. According to estimates, Resident Evil 4 reportedly only brought in revenue of $208,000 for 357,000 downloads. Its price of 30 euros (without expansions) suggests that only 7,000 people paid to unlock the game.
Despite a more attractive price, Resident Evil Village fares even worse with an estimated $92,000 in revenue from 370,000 downloads, meaning fewer than 5,800 players would have spent the €16 needed to access the full game. At €23, the price of Death Stranding Director’s Cut is not excessive either, but 505 Games (the publisher of the Kojima Productions game on PC and mobile) would have only seen a turnover of 212,000 dollars for 10,600 downloads and this since the 29 January 2024.
If Capcom, Ubisoft and 505 Games have probably not bet big on these versions, the figures estimated here are still close to anecdotal, to the point of calling into question the very existence of these ports, unless Apple doesn’t make these much easier. Apple, which can show off during its conferences with these prestigious titles, is well placed to know the consumption habits of mobile gamers, the kingdom of free-to-play, microtransactions and games with simple and immediate controls. In addition, subscriptions (Apple Arcade, Netflix) have established themselves in the mobile gaming landscape, not to mention that owners of equipment as expensive as an iPhone 15 Pro interested in these games are undoubtedly also in possession of a console or a state-of-the-art PC to enjoy it in optimal conditions.
