The tech giant has taken billions from game developers but failed to reinvest it, leaving the App Store a confusing mess for mobile gamers
In the 15 years since it launched the App Store, Apple has proved again and again that it cares very little about games – though it is happy to make billions from them. I should know: I was an App Store games editor for seven years.
It all started so well. When the iPhone and iPad arrived, those devices transformed games almost as much as they upended the rest of the tech world. Suddenly everyone had powerful games machines in their pockets, and it was amazing. Some wonderful developers broke through. Zach Gage kickstarted his career with the artsy Tetris-meets-wordsearch game SpellTower; Adam Saltsman’s Canabalt turned platforming tropes into a desperate post-apocalyptic dash; ingenious gothic puzzler Helsing’s Fire gave us our first glimpse into the mind of Lucas Pope, later the creator of Papers, Please.
