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Since the beginning of October, the App Store has had its own head again, reporting to Eddy Cue. In his first interview, Carson Oliver talks about one-time purchase games, console ports, and the role of Apple Arcade. He doesn't mention any specific figures.
Carson Oliver has only been Vice President of the App Store for a few weeks. His promotion gave the store its own leadership level again, reporting to Services Chief Eddy Cue, after Phil Schiller stepped down at the end of August. Bloomberg described the restructuring involving Cue and Adrian Perica in early October.
Oliver has now given a written interview to the gaming magazine Polygon. The occasion was the Indie Games Week in the App Store, with which Apple has been bringing seven games such as Sifu and No Man's Sky to iPhone and iPad since October 12th.
Key Facts at a Glance
- According to Oliver, more premium games will be released in the App Store this year than last year.
- He cites players whose first gaming device was an iPhone as a driving force.
- Developers should be able to freely choose between one-time purchase and Apple Arcade.
- For console and PC ports, he refers to Apple's tools and the hardware of the iPhone 18 Pro.
- Oliver does not provide any figures on growth.
More games for one-time purchase
Oliver's central statement concerns premium games, i.e., titles that are purchased once rather than generating revenue through advertising or in-app purchases.
We are seeing more premium games in the App Store this year than last year.
According to Oliver, the most popular games are relaxed, management simulations, and roguelikes; he cites Balatro, Stardew Valley, and Slay the Spire as examples. He does not specify the extent of this growth.
Oliver attributes this to a new generation of gamers who never started with consoles or PCs. Their first gaming device was an iPhone with a touchscreen; for them, touch is the most important controller.
Apple Arcade as one of two ways
Oliver has little new to say about the future of Apple Arcade. The service will remain, but developers will be able to decide for themselves where a game is best suited.
A breakthrough game like Balatro can be successful as a premium download and find a home on Apple Arcade just as easily.
The Indie Week itself demonstrates how this works in practice: Vampire Crawler was released directly on the App Store and not through a subscription service. For gamers, this dual strategy means that well-known indie titles don't automatically end up on Apple Arcade, but often have to be purchased individually.
Tools and hardware for ports
Regarding the growing number of console and PC games on the iPhone, Oliver points to Apple's developer tools: the Game Porting Toolkit 4, Metal with MetalFX, and Apple's Unity plug-ins. On the hardware side, he mentions the ray tracing of the A20 Pro and the vapor chamber for cooling in the iPhone 18 Pro.
An interview without key figures
I read the interview primarily as an introductory message. Oliver continues the course Apple has pursued for years and avoids any figures by which he could later be judged. What's more remarkable is what he talks about: The new App Store chief doesn't introduce himself with fees, regulation, or alternative stores, but with games.
For gamers in this country, this approach has a tangible side. If more good indie titles are released as one-time purchases rather than through a subscription, Apple Arcade won't automatically become more attractive, while buying individual games will gain in importance. Anyone considering subscribing to Arcade for specific titles should therefore check beforehand whether their desired game is even included in the subscription.
Do you prefer to buy games individually on your iPhone, or is what Apple Arcade offers enough for you? Tell us in the comments how you handle it.
