Sidney Jacobs
So something big things have just started happening within the mobile games industry that can’t be ignored as gamers. I stopped writing a big article that means a lot to me personally, so I could start writing this. These two big events are worth knowing about, no matter how you play video games.
The first event that has happened is the fact that the Xbox Game Pass will allow those that purchase it to stream games to Android devices. Streaming games to mobile devices is nothing new, but this official way to stream console/PC quality games could pave way to change streaming forever.
I’ve seen plenty of videos predicting the future of streaming; that one day, computers will be extremely cheap, and all of the processing of these computers will be done in China or something. I could see a new, Ouya-like, console becoming a thing for Xbox. Who would buy an expensive console, when all you need to game is a decent computer with good internet?
Raspberry Pi gaming could become a bigger thing in the future as well. A lot of people pirate or use illegal streaming software for games when using devices like a Pi. However, if the Pi could legally stream games, more people would pay the money rather than illegally download games.
This is huge for mobile gamers, as it gives them the chance to play these console games that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Paying for the Xbox Game Pass is certainly a better deal than the Apple Arcade, and will be huge if it gets on Apple. Some may be thinking, if Apple has its own payed game service, why would they allow something like Xbox Game Pass?
Well, to answer to the previous question may change, and its because of everyone’s favorite battle royale style game, the Minecraft Hunger Games. Just kidding; it’s Fortnite! Epic Games just announced a few days ago that a new, direct payment system is now in Fortnite, allowing gamers to pay money directly to Epic Games.
This bypasses the App and Google Play Store’s system, and doing this allows players to get extra V-Bucks for paying real money. Apple and Google don’t like this, as transactions made through their stores give them a 30% cut of all in-app purchases. As a result of this new system, Fortnite has been removed from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Google’s official response to this basically said to basically find the game elsewhere, as there are many places to install apps from on Android devices. However, with Apple’s usual stance, they like to have a closed system, where the only easy way to get apps is through their App Store.
Epic Games is of course not going to roll with this, so they’re suing Apple and Google. Along with this, there are new Fortnite promotional videos that are attempting to make the big tech companies look bad.
One video that Fortnite released parodies Apple’s 1984 commercial, a parody of the novel 1984. This book was the origins of the term “Big Brother”, the idea that society lives under a greater power type of dystopia. This video is trying to say Apple is acting like “Big Brother”, and that they are monopolizing software available on Apple devices.
Many people may dismiss all of this as drama, but this could be huge for the mobile gaming market. Many game developers aren’t wanting to develop for mobile because of these cuts on apps.
I took a break writing after that last paragraph, and since then, another big development has been made. Now, Apple is threatening to take all applications that use Unreal Engine, which Epic Games owns, off of the Apple App Store.
I don’t have any statistics to give about how many applications use Unreal Engine, but it is a lot. It is also worth noting that many other types of programs are developed using this software, not just games.
I was very optimistic when Epic Games was first suing Apple, but now I am a little nervous. With the stakes so high, it scares me that a whole game engine could be taken off the App Store. If Epic Games loses this lawsuit, it could be devastating for the Unreal Engine platform and the games that use it.
It is a possibility that many game developer will switch engines to avoid controversy. I don’t know what the average game developer has knowledge of, but having to switching game engines could mean people may not be able to work anymore.
As I said before, I was optimistic about Epic Games winning, but being real, Apple is a multibillion dollar tech conglomerate. Epic Games is a multimillion dollar tech conglomerate. When I think of companies that have made beyond the thousands, I stop paying attention, as I think most people do. However, lots of money just can’t handle even more money.
There will probably another article covering these topics, and there might be some on the site right now by other authors. I’m definitely going to make sure the front page is kept up to date on this issue, because this is very important for video gaming as a whole.