Earlier this year, developers of Apple Gallery have aired their complaints to the tech giant. Now, another report from Mobile player shows that the relationship has become further strained.
Some of the complaints from sources are based on what was discussed earlier in February. Developers are now waiting up to six months to get paid, weeks go by without communication from Apple, and any discussions that do occur can be “disappointing.”
One source said that meetings are often missing half the Apple team, and those who are present “have no idea what's going on and can't answer our questions. They either don't know about it or can't talk for confidentiality reasons.”
Other concerns raised in the report were entirely new. Many were about the Apple Vision Pro; one developer said that Apple engineering support didn't know how the headset worked, making game development even more difficult.
Another described the process as “going back 10 years in time. Despite the advertised power and cost, it is not a machine built for gaming. Running complex games on the platform is difficult.”
Apple's Arcade Treatment Is Tearing Developers Apart
The alleged problems with Apple and its Arcade are many and extend well beyond the release of a game on the platform. One developer claims it has a discoverability issue that significantly breaks older games when a new one with a similar title comes out.
According to them, the old title would have been completely eliminated from search results, as the new game was taking up space in rankings and promotions.
That developer described their game as being “in a morgue for the last two years.” Despite the title being an Arcade exclusive, they claim that “no matter what we put in the game, Apple won't feature us. It's like we don't exist.”
Like last time, Arcade studios believe Apple hasn't figured out the video game industry or how to get a foothold in it. While one developer has faith in Arcade, he believes Apple “needs a clear focus on where it should go and what it's for.”
Another believes that Apple has put studios in “an abusive relationship” where “we do everything we can to please them for little in return, in the hope that they will honor us with another project and give us the opportunity to screw us again.”
MobileGamer's latest report on Apple Arcade and developers' frustrations with the platform can be read Here.