Very few people are downloading the big console games that were ported to the iPhone in the past year – and an even smaller number are paying $15-50 to unlock the full games.
Apple has showcased games like Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, Death Stranding and Assassin’s Creed Mirage in its keynotes over the past twelve months, all running on high-end iPhones and iPads. But even using the most optimistic revenue estimates, they are all commercial failures. (We’re betting Apple will pay Ubisoft, Capcom and 505 Games to port the titles so the tech giant can use them to showcase its latest devices.)
Our calculations, based on estimates from Appfigures, suggest that fewer than 3,000 people have paid $49.99 to play Assassin’s Creed Mirage on iPhone since its launch on June 6. It has been downloaded approximately 123,000 times, with gross sales of $138,000 to date, Appfigures says. The game is only playable on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and high-end iPads.
The charts above and below show that Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s estimated daily downloads and revenue figures are small compared to an average free-to-play mobile game. App Figures provided data for Ubisoft’s made-for-mobile title Assassin’s Creed Rebellion to demonstrate this point: When it launched on November 21, 2018, Rebellion received 1.9 million downloads in the same timeframe. Mirage only reached 123,000 installs.
Gross revenues for Rebellion over the same time frame are 612% more than Mirage’s at $981,000. Rebellion’s week two downloads fell 45% (compared to Mirage’s 69% decline) and revenue grew 82% (compared to Mirage’s 79% decline). Appfigures also says that Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s daily downloads are already averaging less than $3k, and the game struggles to generate $4k most days – that’s about 80 paying daily users.
Other big-brand games, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding, all of which were featured in Apple’s keynotes, have also bombed. App figures estimate that Resident Evil 4 has been downloaded 357,000 times, with an estimated revenue of $208,000. Based on the $29.99 price tag, this suggests that around 7,000 people have downloaded and paid for the full game in the six months it has been on the market.
Resident Evil Village has fared even worse: Appfigures estimates 370,000 downloads and only $92,000 in revenue, meaning the number of players who actually paid $15.99 to unlock the full game is about 5,750.
Death Stranding from 505 Games is a premium game and costs $20 upfront. It hasn’t yet generated enough downloads to be recorded in Appfigures’ tracking data, but some quick calculations based on its estimated $212,000 revenue suggest it has around 10,600 downloads has generated since its launch on January 29, 2024.
Appmagic, another data company, has more optimistic estimates. The data shows that Assassin’s Creed Mirage has revenue of approximately $221,000 (excluding Apple and Google’s 30%) from 279,000 downloads, meaning approximately 5,750 players paid to unlock the full game. Resident Evil 4 has been downloaded approximately 710,000 times since its launch six months ago, earning Capcom approximately $347,000 to date. That suggests only 15,000 people paid $29.99 to unlock the full game in the six months after release.
According to Appmagic, Resident Evil Village has been downloaded approximately 817,000 times and has generated revenue of $420,000. That means around 34,000 players paid $15.99 to unlock the full game. According to Appmagic estimates, the $20 premium game Death Stranding has grossed $348,000 so far. That means this game has been downloaded approximately 23,000 times.
“These numbers are far from a success, especially when you compare them to the revenue that AAA games generate on their primary platforms,” said Andrei Zubov, head of content at Appmagic. “This suggests that these games have already captured a large portion of their potential revenue and will now generate much lower revenue.”
“When we look at the top-performing premium mobile games, we can see that many are indie titles by origin,” Zubov continues. “These games typically have simpler controls, prioritize unique art styles over high-end graphics, and are suitable for shorter play sessions. These are the usual hallmarks of successful free-to-play mobile games.”
“Just as importantly, premium indie games on mobile usually cost between $5 and $10. This price range better reflects the average spending pattern of mobile gamers. This likely explains why these games find it easier to expand into the mobile games market and why AAA releases underperform.”
“To me, it looks like these markets will remain separate, at least for a while,” Zubov adds. “Players who can afford flagship mobile devices and $50 for games will likely also have the means to enjoy games on PC and console. On the other hand, players who cannot afford gaming equipment or powerful mobile phones are less likely to make a one-time purchase of €50.”
Randy Nelson, head of insights at Appfigures, agrees that these console ports are a tough sell for the average mobile player. “While hardware in the hands of consumers has made tremendous strides toward technological parity with current-generation consoles, it is uncertain how many actually realize this and therefore even consider having the latest Resident Evil or Assassin’s Creed on their phone could play,” he tells us.
“I fear that even if consumers realize they can play AC Mirage on their phones and tablets, the $50 game unlock IAP will end the decision-making process there. Consumers using Apple’s latest hardware may also be more likely to own current-generation gaming consoles that can play these games in 4K with theater-quality sound for the same price – or less,” said Nelson.
“It’s clearly a problem to sell the average iPhone 15 owner on the value of repurchasing the game at full price, even if it’s also available on iPad and Mac, as the data shows.”
Ubisoft confirmed during this year’s WWDC keynote that it would be bringing the latest Assassin’s Creed game, subtitled Shadows, to high-end iPads later this year. In its 2022 WWDC keynote, Apple also announced that No Man’s Sky would be coming to Mac and iPad. The Mac version was released in June 2023, but the iPad edition is still missing.
“Overall, the narrative of AAA titles coming to Apple devices makes more sense from a marketing perspective,” Appmagic’s Zubov adds. “The news of another project coming to mobile is guaranteed publicity and may motivate a small number of people to buy the Pro version of the phone.”