In an interview with PolygonApple’s new head of App Store Worldwide, Carson Oliver, discusses the company’s broader gaming ambitions, the growing number of premium iPhone games, and where Apple Arcade fits into its strategy. Here is what he said.
New App Store boss talks App Store Gaming
Apple’s ambitions to be seen as a true gaming platform owner are not exactly new. Over the years, the company has repeatedly tried to attract major game developers and convince gamers to take games on their devices more seriously, with varying degrees of success.
And those efforts show. As Apple repeatedly highlighted during WWDC keynotes and product announcements, the company introduced hardware-accelerated ray tracing, made significant improvements to its Metal graphics framework and developed tools that make it easier to port PC and console games to its platforms.
Early last week, shortly after Carson Oliver’s promotion to vice president of the App Store was reported, Apple announced Indie Games Week, highlighting seven new and upcoming games for iPhone and iPad, including:
In light of that, Polygon conducted an email interview with Oliver, who shared some interesting details about the state of the game in the App Store and Apple’s plans for the future.
Oliver said Polygon:
“We’ve seen incredible growth in games coming to the App Store, in general, with more premium games being released on the App Store this year than last. […] While many of those are indies, we are also seeing more console and PC franchises coming to mobile as there is a growing audience for these games. These seven games, captured in the Indie Games Week, where the game on iPhone and iPad goes: incredible diversity and creativity without compromising on quality.
Oliver also touched on the technical improvements that Apple has made over the years, some of which we mentioned above, as well as the role that younger generations of players have had in shaping the mobile gaming market.
According to Oliver, “an entire generation of gamers” grew up with an iPhone as their first gaming device, rather than a traditional console or PC.
He added:
“These users are embracing direct touch as their primary controller, making iPhone and iPad the ultimate canvas for indie innovation.”
As for Apple Arcade, and how it fits into Apple’s broader gaming strategy alongside the growing number of premium games launching directly on the App Store, Oliver said. Polygon it comes down to giving game developers more flexibility:
“We want to give developers a trusted place to reach users around the world, support them at every stage and help them build successful businesses. […] To achieve this goal, we offer developers flexible business model options. That means a breakthrough phenomenon like Balatro can thrive as a premium download, and it can also find a home as part of Apple’s Arcade service. The important thing is that we give developers the flexibility to make the best choices for each game and give players the freedom to play the way they want.
To read the whole interview with Oliver Polygonwhich also touches on App Store discoverability, and the types of games that find success on Apple platforms, follow this link.
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