Game developers this week, from @TheIndieManiac on Twitter
It was National Video Game day earlier this week, which is fun and kind of cute, but much of the news during the day was less about the actual “play” or “celebration” of games than some rather interesting shifts around the ecosystem in which they’re played.
National Video Game was overshadowed by a tale of two different but seemingly opposing forces influencing access to video games. One the one hand, an OEM potentially opening a new chapter in the accessibility of certain types of games, thereby potentially expanding the tent of gaming fans (Apple). On the other hand, a tool suite used for the creation of games is seemingly disincentivizing larger install bases in gaming (Unity). Between the two, I think there is something to be learned about how gaming grows (or doesn’t).
Let us start with the more optimistic update.
Apple has not been shy about their ambitions around gaming. Though their forthcoming and prohibitively priced “spatial computing” platform (Apple loves ginning up terms for things that have existed previously, not unlike calling themselves “courageous” for removing ports from their phones) was all but bereft of any reference to gaming, the same Apple Showcase emphasize how Macs in general were evolving to become more gaming friendly. It’s likely that our friends in Cupertino are reading the writing on the walls in terms of where/how consumer entertainment choices are heading…and they don’t see many Apple devices in that theoretical future.
Macs have, historically, been a poor choice for gaming enthusiasts – the same relative horsepower on an Apple machine can be had on a PC for fractions of the price (including a lot more customizability to swap out GPUs, CPUS, etc.), and Apple hasn’t been particularly keen on rad neon lights in their machines (which I guess is a non-negligible consideration for many PC game players given how hard it is to find a gaming machine lacking an internal disco ball). As a result, developer support for Mac has been pretty poor – as I write this, only about 30% of the games in my considerable Steam library can be installed on Mac. That proportion is generous relative to actual Mac usage on Steam - according to the latest Steam Hardware survey (as of August 2023), just 1.57% use some form of OSX - lower than Linux (1.82%) or even VR headset ownership (1.92%).
If Apple has aspirations to deepen their reach within gaming, obviously some form of course correction was needed. Even as such, I don’t think many would have placed bets on the iPhone 15 reveal to be a significant turning point. While most consumers were focusing on Apple’s (forced) adoption of USB-C or yet another increment in the fidelity of the phone camera, the specifications of their new A17 chipset were made in direct reference to the phone’s ability to play a host of fairly advance current-gen PC/console games natively: the newest installment to the Assassin's Creed series (Mirage), a hit reboot from this year (Resident Evil 4), and the latest from gaming auteur Hideo Kojima (Death Stranding) among other titles as a start. Apple is the first major OEM to feature current-generation console/PC games as natively playable on mobile, thus pushing technology more generally towards a world where the difference between a pocket and desktop computer becomes that much more narrow.
The possibilities are rivaled in number only by the questions that remain post-announcement: Will these games be cross-play, how will they be monetized (Apple Arcade integration? Some form of existing F2P methodologies?), and in playing these titles will the phone become about as hot as the fictional rendition of Baghdad that players will explore in Assassin's Creed: Mirage? Whatever the case, it’s an important milestone in accessibility in gaming insofar that it removes the barrier of needing a gaming console or powerful PC to experience otherwise PC/console exclusive games. Mobile became the largest sector in gaming based in part on the fact that nearly every consumer has a mobile device. Increments to the power of mobile devices over the years has steadily increased the number and sophistication of games available on mobile, now to the point of direct PC/console ports.
While I very much doubt your average hyper casual gaming fan will seamlessly jump to Resident Evil, there are already a number of “midcore” to “hardcore” games which have mobile installments (e.g. The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, Diablo, etc.) or have launched mobile cross-play (e.g. Fortnite) which demonstrates diverse tastes within the mobile gaming ecosystem. In other words, even if the mobile versions of these titles don’t meaningfully increase their reach (though not impossible) they do have the potential to augment the play experience of pre-existing audiences who might otherwise play these games exclusively on PC/console (or benefit from a more flexible option to do so).
That said, when thinking about the growth of mobile gaming we must bear in mind that it is not merely due to technological access to the game, its that the game is accessible via smart game design. The early days of mobile gaming spurred a shift in the industry where game designers weren’t just making games for “themselves” (i.e. gaming fans), but ostensibly for “everyone.” Notably, this included controls that could be learned quickly and were well adapted to the touch screen interface.Conversely, modern PC/console games are not designed for everyone nor with consideration for touch screens. An early barrier for new or existing players of these titles on mobile will be the fact that the current state of mapping a console-style controller to touch screen is…not great.
I think Leon is in this picture, somewhere, if you look hard enough.
Controls and existing questions aside, the iPhone 15 announcement remains an exciting development for growing the footprint of gaming. This excitement, however, has been somewhat overshadowed by a good chunk of the game development community absolutely losing their minds on another, different announcement that same day by popular gaming engine Unity.
No one likes a price hike, but the pricing structure proposed by the “run time fee” has the very real potential to make going viral bad for business (as a colleague eloquently put it) by charging per install of the game. Instead of a simple royalty fee (e.g. competitive platform Unreal asks for 5% of gross revenue over $1M) the complex rules/triggers and potentially retroactive nature of the install fees leads to a number of complex (and seemingly unforeseen) circumstances. Demos, early access, or putting a game on a subscription service, all previously seen as savvy levers to increase the awareness/reach for a title, have the potential to be existential liabilities under this model.
The backlash has been swift - ranging from developer boycotts, threats to pull games (including one of my top games of last year), and sadly direct threats to the safety of Unity employees. The flames have no doubt been fanned by who is at the center of this fracas: Unity CEO John Riccitello, a former EA boss that oversaw aggressive pushes into microtransactions by the company and thus has become a bit of a villain among gaming fans. One of the more effective tactics to push back may thus be hitting the company where it truly hurts: the bottom line, via a boycott of Unity’s very profitable ads units.
In short, National Video Game Day was quite a day for the world of video gaming, but perhaps not in the way that would be intended by a “national holiday.” It does, however, allow for an interesting view into the business of gaming via a story about the importance of access to the proliferation of gaming (and how mobile gaming fits into this story). Tying it all together:
The gaming industry has grown considerably in recent years off mobile adoption, but this is not merely a reflection of technological access: Game design sensibilities have similarly shifted with mobile. The wide adoption of iOS devices promises an interesting future for previously PC/console exclusive games with the launch of the iPhone 15, but game design around these titles likely have a ways to catch up before mobile becomes a sensible alternative to PC/console hardware.
The proliferation of mobile gaming has likewise spurred considerable innovation in how games are monetized, where well established free to play strategies have walked a tightrope between establishing as large of an install base as possible while also making a developer money. This is, in part, why the Unity pricing structure is seen as so problematic - it flies in the face of virtually every known monetization strategy that free to play developers (who are the bulk of Unity users) have leaned on in the past.
In short, the announcements by Apple and Unity are creating waves because they either augment or run against the status quo of how the gaming industry has been growing in recent years (with considerable nuance in between). The consequences of these shifts remain to be played out over the coming months, but in the short term they allow for an opportunity to learn and rethink accepted practices within the industry. After all, if not a celebration, holidays can certainly allow for a moment of reflection.
Solid take mate. Thanks for your insights