Polygon calls the push surprisingly resilient as the App Store's new head lays out Apple's gaming vision.
Seven years later, Polygon describes Apple's gaming push as surprisingly resilient. Its article features the App Store's new head laying out Apple's vision for gaming.
7.1K
1 Source, first seen ago
—
Not ranked yet
—
Not ranked yet
@TechmemeAn interview with Apple's new VP of the App Store, Carson Oliver, on Apple's gaming vision, Apple Arcade, providing tools for indie game developers, and more (@marioprime / Polygon) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)@TechmemeAn interview with Apple's new VP of the App Store, Carson Oliver, on Apple's gaming vision, Apple Arcade, providing tools for indie game developers, and more (@marioprime / Polygon) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)Seven years after Apple Arcade launched, Apple is still trying to make its devices a bigger home for games. In an interview with Polygon, Carson Oliver, Apple’s new head of App Store Worldwide, described a strategy that keeps the subscription service while expanding the market for premium games sold directly through the App Store.
Apple’s Indie Games Week put that approach on display. The company highlighted seven titles for iPhone and iPad, including Sifu, Vampire Crawlers and Little Kitty, Big City, and announced a mobile version of No Man’s Sky. Polygon reports that the port packages 10 years of updates into roughly 5 GB and can run on an iPhone 11.
Oliver said Apple’s support goes beyond distribution. He pointed to hardware improvements, Game Porting Toolkit 4, Metal and open-source Unity plug-ins as ways to reduce the work of bringing PC and console games to Apple devices.
The company is also leaning on human curation to help games stand out in a crowded store. A new Creative Assets feature lets developers place their own artwork in search results and product-page headers. Apple says those tools, plus the scale of the App Store, can give independent studios a path to audiences that might otherwise miss their games.
Oliver told Polygon that more premium games are arriving on the App Store this year than last. He identified cozy games, management simulations and roguelikes as categories finding an audience, citing titles such as Balatro, Stardew Valley and Slay the Spire.
Apple does not disclose enough platform data to show how much this strategy is paying off. Polygon cites GamesIndustry.biz reporting that premium mobile game sales rose 77% in 2025, but Oliver would not confirm whether that figure matches Apple’s internal numbers.
Apple Arcade also remains part of the plan. Oliver described premium downloads and the subscription catalog as parallel choices, saying developers should have “flexible business model options.” A game can be sold on the App Store, offered through Arcade or use another model that fits its audience.
Polygon notes that some questions remain around the wider push. Apple continues to court major publishers, but the outlet has seen less visible support from companies such as Capcom and Ubisoft in 2026 than during Apple’s higher-profile gaming campaign in 2023. The hardware and development tools are in place; whether enough developers and players follow is still unclear.
@TechmemeAn interview with Apple's new VP of the App Store, Carson Oliver, on Apple's gaming vision, Apple Arcade, providing tools for indie game developers, and more (@marioprime / Polygon) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)@TechmemeAn interview with Apple's new VP of the App Store, Carson Oliver, on Apple's gaming vision, Apple Arcade, providing tools for indie game developers, and more (@marioprime / Polygon) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)
