Disappointing AAA game sales on iPhones and iPads reported as Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil fail to attract fans

Apple made a big deal about the gaming potential of the A17 Pro during the iPhone 15 launch event. The company promised that a new generation of games formerly reserved only for consoles/PCs was on its way to Apple devices. Apple showcased this by demoing the iPhone 15 Pro running AAA games like Resident Evil 4 Remake, Resident Evil Village, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.

However, Cupertino’s dream of turning the high-end iPhones and iPads into viable AAA gaming devices may be short-lived as a report from Appfigures paints a grim picture of AAA game sales on iOS (via mobilegamer.biz).

The report claims that AAA games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 4/Village have struggled to find an audience on iOS. Assassin’s Creed Mirage, for instance, has reportedly sold less than 3000 copies at its full price of $49.99 even though the game boasts 123K downloads. Part of the reason for this wide discrepancy between the download numbers and full-priced copies sold is that users can play a free demo before making a purchase. So, many users seem to have played the demo but very few have bought the game.

According to Appfigures, Assassin’s Creed Mirage has bombed so hard that the game is finding it difficult to even net $4,000 in revenue daily. To illustrate its point, the firm compared Assassin’s Creed Mirage to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, a title made specifically for mobile devices, and showed that the mobile-only AC game had generated around $981K in revenue in the same time it had taken Assassin’s Creed Mirage to clock in only $123K.

Moving on to other titles, Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 Remake and Resident Evil Village have also reportedly failed to woo the large iOS user base. Per Appfigures, the Resident Evil 4 Remake and the Resident Evil Village have managed around 357K and 370K downloads with revenues of $208K and $92K respectively. Taking into account the asking price of the Resident Evil 4 Remake ($29.99) and the Resident Evil Village ($15.99), the actual paying customers number 7,000 for RE 4 Remake and 5,750 for RE Village.

Additionally, Death Stranding on iOS also appears to have failed to garner much attention with around 10,600 downloads. As the game doesn’t have a free demo, the $20 asking price results in $212K in revenue. So, not a good look for a high-profile console/PC title.

Possible reasons for the unpopularity of AAA games on iOS

While there are a number of potential reasons why AAA games are having a difficult time in capturing an audience on iOS, pricing could be the biggest factor. Mobile platforms like iOS and Android are littered with free-to-play titles that have gained enormous success. Even top-selling premium games on iOS like Five Nights at Freddy’s and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas cost a fraction of the price of Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Resident Evil 4.

Then, there is the issue of console titles only being available on high-end iPads and iPhone 15 Pro/max (Available "Renewed" on Amazon). Naturally, people who can invest in an iOS device that costs equal to or more than $1,000 can also buy a gaming console like an Xbox Series S or a PC to play these games at a much higher quality and with vastly better controls.