Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: apple, gaming, itunes, streaming, video games
Apple is Apparently Working on a Streaming Gaming Service
It appears everyone on the planet is now working on a streaming gaming service, including Apple. Hell, we're probably working on one and don't even realize it yet. The news comes from Bloomberg who are reporting that come Monday, Apple will start to reveal big plans for their future as they seem to be transitioning part of their company into a services-based format. Here's a snippet from the article talking about their plans to unveil a new service sometime this year, which sounds like it would work a lot like iTunes but with some changes to the mix.
Apple is also working on a premium games subscription for its App Store and discussing it with potential partners, according to people with knowledge of the plans. This service won't take on new cloud-based streaming offerings like Google Stadia. Instead, it will focus on iPhones and iPads and bundle together paid games from different developers that consumers can access for a monthly fee. Cheddar previously reported that Apple was working on a gaming-related subscription service.
The company would collect these monthly fees, then divide up the revenue between developers based on how much time users spend playing their games, one of the people said. Apple is likely considering popular paid titles on the App Store and would exclude titles that are free to download but generate revenue via in-app purchases.
Apple could discuss the service as soon as Monday, or it may choose to detail the offering at its conference for developers later this year. Some of the most popular paid games on the App Store include Microsoft-owned Minecraft and franchises like NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto.
It would be nice to know what the company has planned going into PAX East, but we're guessing Apple will do like they always do, and that's wait to make a grand presentation of it in the fall.