Apple has fallen from eighth out of 38 companies to the bottom of the GlobalData’s gaming software thematic scorecard amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rupantar Guha, Senior Analyst for Thematic Research, offers his view: “Apple’s fall in the gaming software scorecard can be attributed to changes the company has made in its gaming revenue channels, the App Store and Arcade, due to COVID-19. The forced removal of the trending Plague Inc. (an Apple-exclusive title) from the Chinese App Store in February 2020 slowed its growth in China, the largest gaming market in the world.
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“Apple is trying to benefit from surging demand for gaming by offering a 30-day free trial of its Apple Arcade service to new subscribers. It is unclear if this will be enough to attract a significant number of new subscribers.
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“In addition, Apple has yet to announce a move into esports, while its rivals such as Google, Amazon and Tencent already have strong footholds in key areas of the esports value chain. Although esports currently caters to a niche audience – almost 10% of the global online population of around 4.5 billion – its reach is expanding rapidly.
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“Despite having the tech capabilities and potential esports titles on the Apple Arcade, Apple has failed to benefit from the thriving esports market during the global lockdown.”
