iOS ports of Resi 4, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Death Stranding sold poorly, estimates suggest

Apple’s attempts to bring triple-A console games to its iPhone and iPad devices appear to be off to a slow start.

According to analysis by Mobilegamer.biz, based on estimates from Appfigures, the iOS ports of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village, Death Stranding and Assassin’s Creed Mirage have failed to sell well, despite Apple featuring them during their keynote presentations in the past year.

The games are only playable on high-end iPhone and iPad devices, meaning the potential audience size is smaller than the overall iPhone user base in the first instance.

However, even with this in mind, Appfigures estimates suggest that while Assassin’s Creed Mirage has been downloaded around 123,000 times, it’s only made around $138,000 gross revenue.

Given that the game is free to download, with players able to access a small part of the game before having to pay $49.99 to unlock the rest of it, this suggests fewer than 3,000 people went on to buy the full game.

Similar calculations based on Appfigures’ estimates suggest that around 7,000 iOS users have paid for Resident Evil 4, around 5,750 have paid for Resident Evil Village and around 10,600 have paid for Death Stranding.

Mobilegamer.biz does point out that these are merely estimates, and notes that another data firm, Appmagic, has higher figures (albeit still low in the grand scheme of things).

According to Appmagic’s estimates, Resident Evil 4 and Village have sold 15,000 and 34,000 copies, respectively, on iOS, while Assassin’s Creed Mirage has sold around 5,750 and Death Stranding has sold around 23,000.

Appmagic head of content Andrei Zubov told Mobilegamer.biz that even its more optimistic estimates make for disappointing sales, and that console games of this type just aren’t the best fit for mobile play.

“These figures are far from a success, especially when compared to the sales achieved by AAA games on their primary platforms,” Zubov told the site. “This suggests that these games have already captured a big part of their potential revenue and will now sustain much lower earnings.

“Looking at the top-performing mobile premium games, we can see that many are originally indie titles. These games typically feature simpler controls, prioritise unique art styles over high-end graphics, and are suited for shorter play sessions. These are the usual attributes of successful free-to-play mobile games.”

Zubov also suggested that the situation wouldn’t improve any time soon, pointing out that players who can afford the high-end iOS devices needed to play these games would likely already be able to afford high-end PCs or consoles and would therefore more likely buy these games on those platforms instead.

“For me, it seems like these markets will remain separate, at least for some time,” he said. “Players who can afford flagship mobile devices and $50 for games are likely to have the resources to enjoy games on PC and console as well.

“On the other hand, players who can’t afford gaming devices or high-performance mobile phones are less likely to make a one-time $50 purchase.”