Apple may announce a “Netflix for Games” subscription service this week. The gaming service is expected to debut alongside a news and video service specially delivered by the tech giant.
Bloomberg reported: “Apple is also working on a premium games subscription for its AppStore and discussing it with potential partners, according to people who know 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.”
Rather than being a one-off standing order payment, the monthly service fee will likely be divided amongst the services’ games based on how much time the user spends on each game. While the free-to-play genre proves popular on the AppStore, the service will focus on paid games.
The current AppStore gaming situation
There is certainly an audience for a “Netflix for Games” service, with games accumulating 25% of the AppStore – the most popular iOS app category by volume. Almost half of the AppStore’s 2.2 million apps are “free,” and each of the top 50 grossing games is free to download. With this in mind, seeing which games the service will feature will be interesting, as the free-to-play genre is currently favoured.
While Apple has paved the way for a focal point on new services following Monday’s event, Bloomberg is not certain the service will debut this week. That said, the iOS giant has already debuted new iPads, iMacs and AirPods – an exciting time for Apple fans.