Apple Suspends Video Game Subscription App for iOS Devices
Apple cancelled the video game subscription model it previously approved yesterday.
"It was officially approved," said Paul Thelen, founder of Big Fish, a game publisher in Seattle. This new process took a while for Apple to finally adopt.
Under this subscription model, called "Play Instantly," owners of Apple's mobile devices would be able to gain access to several playable titles for a monthly fee.
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This new revenue stream for video game publishers was previously available for digital publications only.
One of the content providers for the new model, Big Fish Games, was the first game company to adopt the subscription application. Bloomberg reported that Big Fish Games, a Seattle-based game publisher, “won approval from Apple to become the first to offer users access to dozens of titles for $6.99 a month. Until now, games have only been available one at a time, requiring users to download individual applications."
Apple apparently took down the app and eliminated the planned subscription model for all video game publishers.
“We were notified that the app was removed,” said Thelen. “The app had been available since Nov. 18. We’re trying to follow up with Apple to try to figure out what happened."
Thelen was surprised by Apple’s latest move. This model was successful and solely available for subscribers to magazines and newspapers.
Thelen's game company was also planning to introduce new weekly releases alongside its current titles. Gamers would have a plethora of games to choose and play every month.
Big Fish is planning to introduce the "Play Instantly" app to Android devices as well as PCs and Macs in the future. If Apple does not reinstate the app, Big Fish will forgo bringing it back to iOS mobile devices.
Apple has offered no comments on its decision yet.
