Apple is apparently working on a Netflix-like subscription service for gamers. A report by Cheddar, citing five unnamed sources, claims that Apple has been talking to game developers for months to create the service that would function like Netflix for games.
Plans are still in the early stages, so it would be really difficult to say how much Apple’s streaming service would cost, and what would it offer. Cheddar believes that Apple could take a role of a publisher to developers, which really means the company could distribute, market those games that haven’t been exclusively available on its platform.
According to the data from market research firm App Annie, games is itself the biggest category of all the apps within the App store. Given that Apple makes billions alone from the App store revenue, it makes a lot of sense for Apple to make a subscription service for games. Going by that logic, Apple is already one of the largest gaming companies in the world – despite the fact that it makes no games.
Apple has already indicated in the past that it expects the future growth to come from the services business. During the fourth fiscal quarter of 2018, Apple’s services business brought in $10 billion in revenue, up 17 per cent from the $8.5 billion services earned in the fourth quarter of 2017. Apple has a huge customer base and the rumoured subscription service for gaming could be a perfect fit. The Tim Cook-led company is also reportedly planning to bring a subscription video service as well.
But it would not be an easy ride for Apple. Major tech players from the likes of Google, Microsoft and Amazon are already eyeing this space closely. Microsoft, which is a known name in the game console business, plans to release a streaming service called xCloud next year. Google is also launching a game-streaming service, dubbed ‘Project Stream’. Amazon too has been developing a game streaming platform that would allow users to ditch physical games and simply play games by streaming over the internet. Right now, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are the biggest names in the game industry.
