AAA games for iPhone and iPad aren’t exactly a hit with users

Since the launch of the iPhone 15 Pro with A17 Pro, Apple’s first chip with hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, Apple has been trying to convince major game developers to bring their titles to iOS. AAA Games like Resident Evil Village and Assassin’s Creed Mirage are now available on the App Store, but a new report shows that they’re not exactly a hit with iPhone and iPad users.

AAA games are not doing well in the iOS App Store

Data obtained by Appfigures (via MobileGamer.biz) revealed that the demand for AAA games (as console-level games are known) on mobile devices is not as high as some may have expected.

The report mentions that games made for iOS are “commercial failures” and speculates that Apple may have paid companies like Ubisoft and Capcom to port their titles to the iPhone as a way of promoting the hardware of their latest devices.

Appfigures shows that Assassin’s Creed Mirage has had more than 123,000 downloads since its launch on June 6. However, less than 3,000 people had paid $49.99 to unlock the full game as of last week. The report says that daily downloads of the game are already under 3,000 on average. These figures are quite low compared to free-to-play mobile games.

For comparison, Assassin’s Creed Rebellion (a game made for mobile) achieved almost 2 million downloads during the same period when it was released, with gross revenue 612% higher than Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

Resident Evil 4, released for iOS in December, is also struggling with download numbers. The game has been installed 357,000 times, but only 7,000 have paid $29.99 to unlock the full game. When it comes to Resident Evil Village, around 5,750 people have paid $15.99 for the full game.

Smartphone users may prefer simpler games

Appmagic’s head of content Andrei Zubov believes that smartphone users prefer casual mobile games, as they’re usually made with touch controls in mind and are “suited for shorter play sessions.”

“Looking at the top-performing mobile premium games, we can see that many are originally indie titles. These games typically feature simpler controls, prioritize unique art styles over high-end graphics, and are suited for shorter play sessions. These are the usual attributes of successful free-to-play mobile games,” Zubov said.

AAA games are designed to be played with game controllers, and touch controls are often poor and uncomfortable. There’s also the fact that even the largest iPhone has a small screen for playing sophisticated games, which makes the experience less appealing to gamers.

But there are other things to keep in mind. Due to hardware limitations, these AAA games are only compatible with the latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. When it comes to iPads, they only run on models with M1 or later. This alone limits the number of people who can buy these games on iOS.

Furthermore, AAA games cost much more than smartphone owners are used to paying for mobile games, which also keeps people away from buying them. While seeing such games running on an iPhone is certainly impressive, it doesn’t seem that users are really interested in them, at least not yet.