Epic has filed a motion for an injunction against Apple in the US District Court for California’s Northern District, alleging Apple of attacking Epic’s entire business in unrelated areas. A federal judge on August 24 gave a temporary restraining order and ruled that Apple can't terminate Epic’s access to Unreal Engine development tools on Apple platforms, but let the Fortnite ban stand. A short-lived restraining order addressed the most pressing concern of Epic as it meant that Epic will be able to keep growing Unreal Engine for iOS operating systems, but the game is not over yet and the threat still looms.

Apple and Epic's Battle: Unreal Engine Games for iOS in Jeopardy? 

If Epic ends up losing access to iOS development tools, Unreal Engine game developers will have no other choice than using another game engine to build games for Apple platforms. It’s also a big worry for developers that have already launched Unreal-powered games for iOS and MacOS because an update from Apple that renders older games unplayable can result in huge revenue losses. Apple has also taken some such recent decisions like to reduce compatibility for 32-bit apps on iOS and on MacOS.

What Unreal Engine Users Will Lose

I have prepared a list of programs, technologies, and capabilities that Unreal Engine users will lose access to if the court upheld Apple’s revocation of Epic's dev tools.

• • All Apple software, SDKs, APIs, and developer tools

• • Pre-release versions of iOS, iPad OS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS

• • Pre-release versions of beta tools such as Reality Composer, Create ML, Apple Configurator, etc.

• • Notarization service for macOS apps

• • App Store Connect platform and support which assist in account transition, password reset, app name issues. etc.

• • TestFlight.

• • Access to provisioning portal for certificate generation, and provisioning profile generation.

• • Ability to enable in-app Apple services, including Apple Pay, CloudKit, PassKit, Music Kit, HomeKit, Push Notifications, Siri Shortcuts, Sign in with Apple, kernel extensions, FairPlay Streaming.

• • Access to Apple-issued keys for connecting to services such as MusicKit, DeviceCheck, APNs, CloudKit, Wallet.

• • Access to Developer ID signing certificates and Kernel Extension signing certificates.

• • Developer Technical Support.

• • Participation in Universal App Quick Start Program, including the right to use the Developer Transition Kit (which must be returned to Apple).

• • Ability to improve hardware and software performance of Unreal Engine on Mac and iOS hardware and optimize Unreal Engine on the Mac for creative workflows, virtual sets and their CI/Build Systems.

• Adoption and support of ARKit features and future VR features into Unreal Engine.

If Epic lost access to all the above development tools necessary to build game apps for Apple Platforms, Unity may get a big competitive edge. It’s highly likely that many Unreal developers will turn to Unity, which is currently the most used game engine for building cross-platform mobile games. Yes, Unreal Engine scores higher when it comes to creating heavy graphics games, but Unity is quickly inching closer to level the playing field for Unity game development companies. So, Apple’s  revocation of Epic's dev tools could mean more Unity game developers building games for Apple platforms.

Alternatives to Unreal Engine

There are other alternatives to Unreal Engine as well, such as Construct 2, GameMaker Studio,  CocoonJS, MonoGame, Amazon Lumberyard and more. Game app developers will have to see which game engine will suit their game requirements the best if Apple won and rendered Unreal Engine unusable to build iOS and MacOS games. Game engines play a big role in the mobile game development process and that’s why Apple’s battle with Epic has a lot do with the developers who use Unreal for creating iOS and MacOS games. We all hope things between Apple and Epic get back to normal as before, and Unreal Engine developers keep making games for Apple platforms in the future too.

You can get in touch with us if you have a game idea and are looking for a game development studio for hire. Logic Simplified, a top game development company, is in the game development space for almost a decade now and has hands-on experience of using several cutting edge tools, such as Unity, Unreal Engine, Construct 2, Maya, Blender and many more, to create highly engaging video games. Outsourcing is already a very popular practice and it’s gaining even more steam as more and more gaming businesses are now looking to hire game designers and developers due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. There are several things that come to the mind before making a decision whether or not to go for offshore game design and development services. And that’s perfectly alright! We are all ears to hear your concerns and explain to you how our game experts can help you build a quality video game with reduced time to market, engaging game elements, and low cost. We have seen both successes and failures, and thus our hard-earned knowledge of what exactly works in the gaming industry and what doesn’t could greatly help turn your game idea into a revenue generator machine. Share your requirements by writing to us at enquiry@logicsimplfied.com, and we will get back to you shortly to provide you with gaming solutions we are proud of.

As per the reputed market research firm Newzoo, the global mobile gaming industry was expected to generate $68.5 billion in 2019 and engulf half the gaming market by 2022. There’s no doubt that mobile gaming market is big, and a lot of businesses are venturing in game development to tap its huge monetization potential. However, building a mobile game is a serious business and no matter how creative your game idea is it will still fail if the execution is just not right. That said, I am discussing what the right mobile game development process could be so that you can plan your mobile-gaming quest better and successfully bring a new champion in the gaming market.

Three Stages of Mobile Game Development Process

• Pre-Production
• Production
• Post-production

These are three main phases of mobile game development or any game development for that matter. Each of them covers a set of tasks (which I am going to discuss next) that would help you cover the whats and whys to avoid creating a labyrinth for yourself in the process. So, are we all set? Let’s begin the ride then!

Pre-production

Pre-production is the initial stage that begins with a great game idea and conceptualization. On the basis of your in-depth market research, you decide what game will be produced, who your competitors are, will it be for console, PC or mobile and the budget required. I am assuming mobile as this blog is about the mobile game development process.

Pre-production lays the foundation for your mobile game as the most critical aspects are carefully thought upon at this stage, including game’s selling points, core game mechanics,  fun factor, target audience, gameplay, storyline, game design, objects, sounds, UI, 2D/3D, technology, game engine, etc.  

To choose the mobile platform, you need to figure out where your target audience exists. Most game app developers go for Android and iOS as these are the reigning mobile operating systems, but if your market research points out to Windows and Blackberry too, then you can build your game for them as well. In such a case, going for a cross-platform mobile app could be an ideal choice because native apps will take a lot of time plus they will be much more expensive to build. But again, this is subject to which and how many operating systems your target audience is using.   

Now, as a standard, game concept designers, writers, developers, instructional designers and subject matter experts (SMEs) collaborate to create technical details of the pre-production stage to be implemented throughout the development process. And these technical details are covered under as follows:

• Concept documentation
• Game design document (GDD)
• Project plan
• Software Requirement Specification (SRS) Document
• Proof of Concept (POC)
• Architecture – Design
• Art-style
• Test-plan

However, these technical details are not supposed to be exhaustive as they can be revised based on changing requirements. You need to understand that mobile games are different from console games which have to be completed fully before they are shipped out. Mobile games, on the other hand, are more flexible as they can be developed in Alpha, Beta and Gamma stages. What it means is that you can make a prototype ready (a workable product with basic functionalities and features) and keep improving on feedback and changing requirements through updates and further releases. Basically, you break down the whole development in small chunks so as to build fast, market fast and learn fast to adjust from time to time and bring it up to the expectations of your users.

Did we forget something here? Oh yes! The team, its size and roles to undertake.

Well, choosing a team for your mobile game development depends on two factors:

• The size and complexity of your game
• The type of your game

If you are building a game of large scale, you may need to hire a big team, though, you can start with a small team too and recruit more going forward. The complexity of the game also factors in determining the size of the team. For example, if you’re planning to build an Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality mobile game, the team size will generally be greater than that of multiplayer board game developers or a team taking up casual puzzle game development or time management games development or card game development.

The second factor is the type of game you are going to develop. Based on the game type, you can establish specialized roles your team members need to undertake for the successful completion of the game. For example, if your game is story-rich with a big narrative, you would need to hire a writer(s) also, or a 3D modeller(s), 3D animator(s) and concept artist(s) for a 3D game.

In the pre-production process, you get to decide not just on the specialized roles of your team members and the quantum, but the hiring model as well, which brings us to understand the three ways of hiring employees.

Three Types of Hiring Models

Freelancers

In today’s connected world, a plethora of freelancers is available for hire on platforms such as UpWork and Freelancer. You can interview and choose candidates as per your needs and budget. However, finding a dream worker on such platforms may not be as easy as it may sound, at least initially. 

In-house employees 

You can hire an in-house team, but you may not want after considering the high cost and other disadvantages associated with it. You will have to pay a recruiter to quickly interview and hire specialists, bear the infrastructural costs, look into team-building activities and manage the team which will ultimately take your focus off from the core activities of your gaming business. The lone advantage is that you will get to communicate with your team face-to-face every day, which in return can contribute to your end product enormously.   

Outsourcing/Offshoring

There are various reasons why outsourcing/offshoring has become a top choice for several businesses to hire game development services. First, you get to work with people who are specialists and have hands-on experience of delivering projects as yours. Second is low cost as you pay nothing for the infrastructural setup, interviewing and hiring employees, and motivating and rewarding them with parties and yearly appraisals. Besides, you get to hire resources on a need basis, which means you only pay for as many resources you currently need without dealing with a situation of firing and hiring often. Your offshore game design and development services provider will lay out everything explicitly in the contract including terms and conditions and SLAs, so the cooperation, quality and timely delivery are guaranteed.

Now that we know the essentials of the pre-production stage, it’s time to head to the next big stage, i.e.  Production.

Production

Once the plan of attack is ready, you bring your workforce into action to start building game architecture and modules based on priorities. That said, the role of product owner,  product manager and project manager becomes important here as they crystallize what needs to be developed first to bring your game to viability. So, your team spends time on writing thousands-of-lines-of-source code to breathe life in each piece of in-game content and create art-assets, such as game characters, objects, background/environments, animations, audio and visual-effects (2D/3D).

Some popular tools for creating 2D art include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and SketchBook Pro, whereas for 3D art are 3DsMax, Maya, ZBrush and Marvelous Designer. If we talk about game engines, Unity and Unreal Engine are the most popular ones, but you can go for others as well based on your game requirements. The decision on choosing a game engine comes down to various factors like game complexity, features you need, availability of drag and drop functionality, visual scripting, team size, time frame, genre and budget.

Sprint planning is an important aspect of production as a workable product should ideally be made ready as soon as possible. The best way to achieve that is to work on small sprints and release a module every one or two weeks. Each sprint is reviewed for feedback and worked upon to improve. There will still be bits and pieces here and there to improve, but that’s alright as they can be improved in the next development stage.

Are you thinking about Funding options now?

If you have a tight budget, you can also opt for some funding options from here on by showing your demo product for investor review. Having a workable product ready can attract Angels and Seeds to invest in your game idea and eventually earn high ROI. You can also go for a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, Indiegogo and many others where backers can support your game to make it a palpable reality.  

So now, your team integrates all the modules and takes a plunge to the post-production stage.

Post-production

In the post-production stage, your team integrates 3rd party SDKs and optimizes the game. The stage is now set for game testing services and QAs get involved to identify and report bugs for fixes. And why only QAs for bug fixes, product manager and project manager also collaborate with the development team to improve the texture of objects, make explosions look more real, let the trees sway in the wind as they do in real-life scenarios and more. You finally lock the code and spend most of the time on polishing and completing the game to the hilt. These improvements, though minor, can greatly differentiate between what’s immersive and what’s not.

App Monetization

The next step is to work on monetization strategies. In-app purchases, Ads within the app and paid apps are the common examples of how most game developers monetize their apps for getting returns on their efforts and investments. Let’s take them one by one.

• In-app purchases: These are usually the part of freemium models, where users pay nothing to start playing your game, but they eventually do for various reasons, such as to move to advanced levels because they can’t wait for long to cross a difficulty level or need power-ups or more powerful game assets (like weapons, a more sophisticated car, etc). You can relate to it if you have played Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans.
• Advertisements: Ads within an app is also a good idea to make some money, but this may hamper user experience. One way to deal with this is to offer an option where users can pay to remove ads, though, only a few will be likely to do so. You can go for Admob for banner ads, and Unity for video ads that reward users.
• Paid app: You can also ask users to pay some price upfront to download your app. But there’s weird psychology among gamers as they will happily pay $50 for Angry Birds on Xbox, but balk at paying $0.99 for it in an app store. Freemium models are to be majorly blamed for this. Anyway, the key is to understand how your users will prefer to pay and work around your monetization strategies accordingly.

Marketing to help your Gaming App become a new Mania

The next step is to get the app ready for app store optimization (ASO) and submit on respective app stores. You uncork a bottle of Champagne and celebrate what you have waited so long for. Your marketing team takes on from here, but not invariably, as pre-launch marketing can also be done to create a buzz about what’s coming out. Game marketing strategies play a big role in creating a buzz about your game and maximize your reach.

You must dedicate a portion (but sufficient enough) of your game development budget to run marketing campaigns on social media, offer perks to try your game and even run paid ads to reach out to your target audience. Your mobile game resides in app stores, but creating a home on the web can also do wonders to increase the number of installs. What it implies here is a landing page on the web. There is no single environment that users experience, which is why creating a landing page on the web could turn out to be a very effective marketing strategy to reach out to prospective users and coax them to install your gaming app from there. You also get email addresses of your potential users which you can use for email marketing purposes and make them aware of future releases and updates, 

Some of the key components to keep in mind while creating a landing page for your app are as follows:  

• Head-turning headlines
• Relevant keywords
• Eye-catchy images
• Social sharing buttons
• Smartly placed CTAs

It’s a stark fact that in today’s digital world people prefer to spend more time watching videos than reading walls of text. So, you can ask your designing team to create video previews of your game so that the marketing team can share them on popular platforms like YouTube, Daily Motion, Vimeo, and others. Video content is a good alternative to text-based descriptions as users can quickly see the best pieces of your video game and immediately decide whether or not to install your gaming app.

You should also listen to what your users have to say about your game. One way of doing that is to create forums where players can discuss both positives and negatives of your game. This will only help your marketing team understand what’s working well and what needs to be done next to improve user experience and build trust among both old and new players.   

Remember, a release is just the beginning of the long road and it’s very unlikely to create success without marketing activities. I will next write a separate blog on what the right marketing strategy could be to promote and bring a mobile game to fruition.

Support and Maintenance

A mobile game is never complete, so you would still need a small team of developers and testers to take care of support and maintenance. As you continue to learn something or the other from the feedback of your users, you will want to incorporate it in your game via future updates and releases. If we take modern hit games into consideration, two-five weeks is the average time to release updates. Updates are critical as they add more value to your game and greatly help in user retention.

The Game is getting Big and You need Funds to Scale

If shortage of money is holding you back from further supporting, expanding and marketing your game, post-launch is ideally the right stage to reach out to VCs and seek investments via Series A, B and C rounds of funding. Your marketing team is supposed to have built a suffice user base by now to make VCs believe and invest in your product. In case, you don’t want to share profits with others in lieu of investments, crowdfunding is still a good option to go for to scale your game and make it a revenue-generator machine. 

Whew!!! With this, we have covered almost all the major areas of a mobile game development process. Now, if you’re a startup gaming company or even an established one looking forward to getting started on your next breathtaking mobile game idea, finding an expert game app development company might be ringing in your head. Don’t worry! Logic Simplified keeps you covered here!

Breathe Life in Your Mobile Game Idea with Logic Simplified

Logic Simplified, a game development company, based in Dehradun, India, offers game designers for hire, iPhone game developers, Android game developers and windows phone game app developers to gaming businesses of all sizes world over. Experts at LS will help you create a GDD and fill the gaps wherever required, along with offering you a vital piece of advice on tech-stack and scalability. Since gaming is what we think about and do all day long, we can effectively help you with feasible social and viral hooks as well.

We know the importance of responsive apps to feel home on different screen sizes, therefore also offer HTML5 game development services (both 2D and 3D) to fit mobile screens of all sizes. Unity game development is at the core of our game development services, but we have also excelled over the years at Adobe game development, Unreal and many more. In today’s modern times, more and more games are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to make their game smarter and more immersive, and we are no way left behind in using new revolutionary technologies. In fact, LS has developed AI bots for its own card game app Gamentio and can help you too with AI development for video games. Whether you’re looking for development of multi-player 2D & Mmorpg 3d game or an action game, role-playing game (RPG), shooting game and whatnot, Logic is a go-to studio to meet all your gaming needs, even for console and handheld games development. Is there still something keeping you on the fence? Reach out to us at enquiry@logicsimplified.com to discuss your game idea, and we promise to get back to you shortly to tell you everything that will help you make a decision and begin with your mobile game development process outright.

Disclaimer: The top five funded game companies in this article are solely based on my research on data from reputed sources and may vary with the exact ones. The reason being businesses usually don’t disclose the specific details of such arrangements and gaming is no different. Nonetheless, the names below deserve a mention for making the gaming industry a hot spot for investments.

Here are 7 game companies that received the highest funding in 2019

1. Gen.G ($46mn)

Gen.G, a California-based premier global esports organization established in 2017, raised $46M in an unknown venture series in 2019. The backers included Will Smith, Keisuke Honda’s Dreamers Fund, Dennis Wong, Michael Zeisser, David Rogier and various Silicon Valley Funds. Gen.G was also ranked sixth in the 2019 Forbes list of the world’s most valuable esports companies. With the funding amount, Gen.G which already has a dominating presence in the world’s leading esports markets (Asia and the US), the esports company will make its foothold even stronger in the global market for video games.  Some part of the funding was also diverted towards development of a youth esports academy and open headquarters in Los Angeles in July 2019. 

2. Mino Games ($30mn)

Founded in 2011 in Montréal, QC, Mino Games is a mobile games developer for iOS and Android. Mino Games got a $30mn backing in a corporate round funding in 2019 from Tilting Point, a mobile publishing and development partnership company. In the largest funding commitment so far, Tilting Point’s $30mn were dedicated to cover user acquisition costs for Mino’s Cat Game. The timing of the funding was also great as it was announced just after the Cat Game closed its soft launch period and released globally. The game developer has also launched titles including Mino Monsters and Mino Monsters 2.

Tilting Point CEO Kevin Segalla said in a press release, “We really fell in love with charm, the colourful aesthetic, and the ever-changing gameplay of Cat Game, so we are excited to turbo-charge its growth, and we are certainly looking forward to a long and successful relationship with Mino​ Games''. Some of the best angel investors, institutional investors, and gaming companies from across the world are now funding Mino Games, which has a strong user base of over 15 million people.

3. Bossa Studios

Bossa Studios, which is popular for zany titles like Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread, raised $30 mn in a Series B round of funding led by Netease. Atomico, London Venture Partners and Makers Fund have also previously funded the London-based game developer in Series A funding, helping it collect $10mn to cement the future success of the studio. The latest funding will boost the company's plans to expand the reach in China.

Bossa has already planned its first-ever Chinese release with Hogwash, a  multiplayer title that pits a farmhand against a group of mischievous pigs. Hogwash is currently the part of Apple’s cloud gaming service Apple Arcade and with its release, Bossa became one of the first game makers to launch a game on the platform. The game studio is now eyeing to tap the huge gaming market of China starting with Hogwash.

4. tinyBuild GAMES ($15 mn)

tinyBuild GAMES, a Washington-based independent video game developer and publisher, received $15 million in Series A funding. The company didn’t disclose the details of the investors, but the money raised was intended to be used for hiring more staff both at junior and senior level, build new franchises and innovate gameplay in new games. tinyBuild Games has so far built Hello Neighbor, Clustertruck, Punch Club, Party Hard, Pandemic Express, Graveyard Keeper and many more.

Prior to the $15 mn funding, tinyBuild also got the $3.75 mn backing of Makers Fund (whose portfolio includes Bossa, Typhoon, Superdata, and more) to support new projects and expand old ones like its stealth horror game Hello Neighbor. 

5. Redhill Games (11.4 mn)

Redhill Games, a free to play PC game studio headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, ran its first round of funding in 2019 and got the $11.4 m backing of Makers Fund, Play Venture and Kowloon Nights in 2019. The game developer was founded in 2018 by veterans of companies like Remedy Entertainment and Wargaming. The funding was directed towards hiring more staff and supporting the first big title of Redhill Games.  Matias Myllyrinne, the current CEO of Redhill Games and the former CEO of Remedy Entertainment and the former head of global development for Wargaming, said that their first big title will be a “new, fresh take on tactical shooters". The game which is expected to be revealed in 2020 will be free to play, with focus on co-op play and use a “games as a service” model.

6. Teatime Games ($9mn)

Teatime Games, an Iceland-based game studio, raised $9 million in Series A round backed by Index Ventures and Atomico (the investors behind Supercell/Bossa/Rovio). Teatime Games’ major focus till now is on reinventing social games for mobile by allowing players to interact with one another, face to face, while playing. The game studio has also built a mobile social gaming platform Teatime Live (for both Android and iOS), which uses Augmented Reality (AR) to launch games that put the social back in mobile gaming.

Teatime debuted the platform in 2019 with Hyperspeed, a fast and furious space racing game which allows players to race against each other and see the reactions of their opponents in real-time. The game features a built-in video chat, Snapchat-stye face filters and allows players to use their earned game faces on other games as well. 

Thor Fridriksson, co-founder and CEO of Teatime Games, said in a statement, “Everyone at Teatime is incredibly excited to launch a new way to play mobile games, and we hope to see other games studios building interactive experiences on the platform. Hyperspeed is one example of a game using Teatime Live that we’ve created, but we expect to work with other game studios on many different genres.”

The successful completion of a $9 million Series A funding round has provided significant support that the game studio needed to launch several other games on Teatime Live in the near future. 

7. Ys Net ($6mn)

Shenmue III, created by Ys Net and published by Deep Silver, is an adventure game that was released in 2019 for Windows and Playstation 4. Shenmue III is now the highest-funded video game on Kickstarter, having raised $6,333,296 which is over three times the set goal of $2,000,000. The video game raised $2 million in just a matter of seven hours and ended up at over $6 million. The belated open-world sequel Shenmue III  takes you on a journey deep into rural China where you take the role of Ryo Hazuki, a Japanese teenager who is hellbent on finding his father’s killer and avenge his brutal murder.

The famous Japanese game designer Yu Suzuki conceived the idea of Shenmue III, which had the backing of Japanese tech giant Sony and Shibuya Productions, but that was majorly intended for Shenmue III‘s production, publishing and marketing. The original Shenmue cost a startling $70m to make and it was not possible to build Shenmue III on a fraction of that budget, said Suzuki.

Kickstarter proved to be a great platform to collect funds and build a sequel that the fans had waited so long for. All the money collected from the campaign was purely used for game development.  Having reached the Stretch Goals of over $5 million on Kickstarter, Suzuki was able to add extra quests, events, and an all-new gameplay feature to bring a sequel true to its name. Kickstarter has become one of the best fund-raising platforms and you can see here the list of top 5 most funded Kickstarter games.

So, above was the list of top-funded game companies in 2019 which shows how much support game companies are getting from investors worldwide to scale up the entertainment industry. When it comes to the contribution of video games in the entertainment industry, movies and music don’t even generate half the revenue video games are earning. People not only love playing video games but watching as well which is why esports are so much on the rise. Funding is very much making it possible for game developers to create amazing games and earn big by entertaining people.

Are you looking out for an expert team of game designers and developers to build your game from the ground up? Logic Simplified, an India-based game studio, offers top-notch game development services to help build your game from scratch and market it fast for early users to create a buzz. Once you have good enough users, you can further expand your game by presenting it to investors and bring the money it will need to become bigger and bigger.

Write to us at enquiry@logicsimplified.com and we promise to get back to you shortly to provide you with a tailor-made solution for your gaming needs.

What Apple Arcade isn’t?

Unlike Project xCloud or Google Stadia, which I will be covering next, Apple Arcade is not a game-streaming service. What it means, in a nutshell, is that once you have downloaded a game, you can play it without even a stable Internet connection. The only exceptions are a few game titles that you wish to play on the Apple TV.

What Apple Arcade is?

Now, coming back to what Apple Arcade is, it’s a video game subscription service that costs $4.99 a month to unravel and enjoy a wide range of exciting video games, including The Enchanted World, Where Cards Fall and Shinsekai: Into the Depths. The beauty of Apple Arcade is that it comes Ads free and without in-app purchases (IAPs). You don’t even have to pay a penny for the updates and content that Apple said the players will receive automatically.

Besides, players can share the subscription with up to five other people, so you can also let your family members and friends to have the gaming fun under just one subscription. For some of the games, you can also pair PlayStation 4 Dual or Xbox One S controller with your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.

Exclusive to iPhone users

None of the Apple Arcade games will be available on Google Play Store, and the company is reportedly shelling out more than $500 million just to ensure the exclusivity of Apple Arcade games. However, after the expiration of time exclusivity period of a particular game, developers can bring it to consoles or PCs as well.

Apart from games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Beneath a Steel Sky and Where Cards Fall, Apple Arcade will also feature games from established game studious, including Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Annapurna Interactive, Finji, Giant Squid, and many more. The genre ranges from puzzlers to adventure, role-playing, frantic arcade games, 5-minute time-wasters to fantasy games.

Also read iOS game developed and published by our iPhone game development company in India.

Availability and Features

Apple Arcade is the first-of-its-kind game subscription service and is reported to be available in more than 150 countries to support on iOS, Mac, and Apple TV. Apple Arcade also comes with added parental controls for parents to decide what type of content is right for their children. You can set a screen exposure time as well after which the games downloaded from Arcade will not be accessible to children.

Although Apple Arcade doesn’t have the full library of games as of now, it’s worth trying with a one-month free trial. If you like the service you can start paying for the subscription after the free trial gets over or simply quit.

Looking Ahead

It would be too early to say if Apple Arcade will be a big success or an attempt in vain. But as we know how Apple can change the way iPhone game developers build game apps and users pay to use them, the latest move is highly likely to have a big impact on the video game industry. Primarily because of the long-running trends of Ads and IAPs that game app developers have relied on for years to rake in billions of dollars. Apple itself charged 30% of all IAPs.

Apple Arcade will certainly be praised by those who don’t like to watch ads while playing video games on their devices and pay for IAPs every now and then. A few months from now will clear the picture about how Apple Arcade will do going forward. Till then, you can try a free trial of Apple Arcade yourself to see if it’s any worth your time and money.

Top Eight Unity-Powered Video Games

Alto’s Adventure

Alto’s Adventure – an endless-runner mobile game, made with Unity, by Snowman, and distributed by Noodlecake Studio. The game was an instant hit due to its stunning visuals and was purely developed for mobile devices. It later captured the attention of Linux and Windows audiences.  This game is all about snowboarding and requires players to jump, slide, and jump again while collecting llamas. The goal is to keep going as long as possible without hitting a rock, falling off a cliff, or getting caught by the elder. Additionally, in Alto's Adventure, six characters can be unlocked by reaching levels 1-51. Before a run, players have the option to purchase various perks that enhance each character's abilities for that specific run.

Among Us

Available for both Android and iOS, Among Us is a 2018 online multiplayer game developed by American game studio Innersloth and inspired by the party game “Mafia”. Using Unity’s multi-platform publishing capabilities, the game even supports cross-platform play! Among Us became a popular game during the pandemic, and continues to be so, offering a fun and engaging social experience for people to enjoy, both in person and remotely.

Monument Valley 2

Monument Valley 2, made by mobile game studio “Ustwo Games”, is a sequel to the critically acclaimed puzzle game built entirely on Unity for mobile. Just like MV1, it has stunning isometric visuals and great music that makes it highly engaging and worth every minute. Monument Valley 2 follows the same style as its predecessor and includes new gameplay features, making it a fantastic standalone game. Its visual style draws inspiration from Japanese prints and minimalist sculpture. Critics have compared it to M.C. Escher's drawings. Its atmosphere and puzzles offer a quiet, contemplative experience.

Crossy Road

Crossy Road is a fun and free arcade game developed and published by Hipster Whale. The classic Frogger game by Konami, which requires players to take their character across a busy road, has been recreated in a cartoonish pixelated style using the Unity game engine. The objective of the game is quite simple - cross the road! However, it's not as easy as it sounds. The road goes on endlessly, and the longer you play, the more challenging and risky it becomes. 

Reigns

Reigns is a card strategy game created by Nerial and published by Devolver Digital. It's a one-of-a-kind experience where players interact with various cards that represent characters. You respond to their questions with either a "yes" or "no," or choose from other pre-set responses based on the situation. Reigns provides a combination of randomness, complexity, and strategy, which makes it addictive and fun to play. When making decisions in the game, it's important to consider the church, military, wealth, and people. Once a decision is made, the game will reveal the consequences of those decisions.

Hitman Sniper

Hitman Sniper is a great example of an Android game developed using Unity game development services. Among the games listed here, only Hitman Sniper has a price tag of $0.99 with over 10 million downloads, making it a remarkable success. The objective of the game is to shoot enemies, which can be done in various modes for different purposes. The game offers many modes such as missions, tactical, and survivor (where you battle zombies), along with a variety of weapons to help you complete your mission. Additionally, the game includes in-app purchases and advertisements to generate revenue. 

Hearthstone

Hearthstone is a multiplayer digital collectible card game (DCCG) developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It uses the popular Warcraft universe and transforms it into a captivating card battle game that is easy to learn. It sets the standard for collectible card battle games due to its remarkable gameplay, thanks to the Unity game engine.

While regular play involves 30 cards, there are actually over 2500 playable cards in the game. Additionally, there are 9 distinct classes, each with its own set of cards and abilities that can be used based on available mana points during each turn of the game. For a free game, it offers an enormous amount of content, including a variety of characters, cards, music, sounds, animations, and visual effects. 

Axie Infinity

The modern gaming industry is incomplete without NFT video games and NFT game development services. Axie Infinity is a highly popular NFT game available on Android. This is a battle Pay-to-Win and Play-to-Earn game, in which players own fantastical creatures called Axies. Axies are fierce pets that can be battled & collected. Every Axie possesses distinctive strengths and weaknesses determined by its genes. With billions of genetic combinations available, the potential outcomes are infinite! NFT assets, such as battle axes, can be bought and earned in the game, as well as tokens for each victory.

Make your games with Unity

Several other popular games are made using Unity since it is one of the best game development technologies available today. You can create some outstanding and money-minting games with Unity, that run flawlessly on every mobile platform. Are you looking for game artists and game developers to develop your game using Unity? 

Logic Simplified, a Unity game development company, has an expert team of Unity 3D game developers who have been successfully delivering exemplary Unity game development services to varied industry verticals. For any query related to Unity game development, write to us at enquiry@logicsimplified.com. We will help you with your dream project.

Where does hyper-casual come from?

Hyper-casual games are currently trending but they are not completely new and actually a sort of revival of the arcade games from the 70s and 80s. However, it’s indeed the first time they top the game charts since App Store was launched a decade ago. The monetization is mostly done through ads, but come 2019 is likely to see in-app purchases increasing its share in ROI as well.

Let’s unfold the secret that makes hyper-casual games so addictive. For this article, I’ll just focus on the two most well-known games in this category - Flappy Bird and Color Switch. No point in writing a complex article about simple games, is there ;).

Simple Interface and Game Mechanics

Hyper-casual games have a simple interface and gamers simply tap or swipe their phone’s screen to play them. We just tap tap our phone’s screen to play Flappy Bird or Color Switch, don’t we? So, no multiple controls and dealing with complex factors. Besides, game mechanics are so simple that gamers don’t even need to go through a long set of instructions to get onboard.

Single World Gameplay

Most hyper-casual games have a single world that players interact with to build their score. But that doesn’t mean these “worlds” are fixed and you get the same sequence of obstacles when you replay them. Color Switch fans never get the same pattern of color obstacles that they got in the previous attempts.

A Perfect Blend of Ease and Difficulty

Gamers don’t find hyper-casual games so easy that they get bored after playing it 20-30 times and neither that difficult that frustration takes them to exit doors. Yes, difficulty level steps up as you proceed, but then you master the skills easily with time. Millions of players across the world are doing the same as I am writing this post.

Short Gameplay Sessions

Game sessions of most hyper-casual games are short lasting from 30 secs to 2 minutes. Short game sessions are a big reason why gamers feel tempted to play hyper-casual titles even when they have five minutes of spare time. These games are not just instantly playable but infinitely replayable as well. Remember the score of 100 in Flappy Bird, how frequently we played and how many hours we spent to hit that score.

Visuals

Simple geometric graphics and solid colors are mostly used in hyper-casual games. Some basic categories of graphics used in these games are Isometric, Neon and flat designs. So, no burden on your eyes to see more clearly or squint to have a good control over NPCs.

Conclusion

Hyper-casual games are rapidly rising in popularity, and so does the competition. Zynga’s recent acquisition of hyper-casual studio Gram Games for $250 million and a $200 million investment in hyper-casual studio Voodoo by Goldman Sachs show that the race for building hyper-casual titles has already begun. In fact, some game app developers have already made over $100,000 in a matter of few months by building these highly addictive games.

Do you also want to catch the rising waves of hyper-casual games? If yes, the game designers and developers at Logic Simplified hold experience in minimalist designs concepts and UX strategies, intuitive controls and simple or complex gameplay-logic can help you develop your next fun, addictive hyper-casual game(s).

With many years of proficiency and talent, we are a renowned iOS Game Development Company in India. Our iOS game developers craft feature-rich and robust games for iOS devices like iPhones and iPad. Thrilling storylines, excellent visuals, and incredible sounds are some of the elements that every game enthusiast searches for. From choosing the appropriate textures and colours to designing characters and crafting fascinating storylines, our skilled developers individually supervise each aspect of the game. With extensive expertise in game development, our trained team is potent in design and production. The team also tests the game rigorously at every stage to assure remarkable quality results. We turn our clients’ ideas into amazing iOS games at a reasonable and cost-effective price with an exciting UI and the functionality the game requires.

Hire iOS Game Developer

2D & 3D IOS Games

Logic Simplified offers iOS game developers for hire who are talented in Cocoa pods, iPhone SDK, OpenGL and Objective and build the best iOS gaming app on the App store. We develop a customizable and full range of games with a visually stunning design and strong functionality. From development, testing, and deployment, we have everything that the client needs to create captivating iPhone games. Get in touch to discuss ahead

Hire iPad Game Developer

Retina display & HD Games

Hire game developers for iPad games and get tailored game development services as per the client requirements. Our games are developed by professional iOS developers who are experts in developing iPad games. Our full-stack of iPad game developers help the client to design an app that delivers the experience they want, regardless of what type of specific demands they have. Drop us your details to discuss further.

Grow Your Business with iOS Game Development Services

As the best iOS game development company, we develop 2D and 3D games with our creative and efficient iOS game development services. Our comprehensive services, innovative solutions, technological expertise, and quality outcomes make us the finest iOS game development company in India. We have a team of certified iOS game developers, and we ensure that every developer or team allocated to the client’s project will give their full attention to delivering high-quality games.

iOS Game Development Services

The iPhone is one of the most famous smartphones, making it a crucial gaming platform. Our trained iOS game developers and designers have vast knowledge in developing games optimized for iPhones. They have a comprehensive understanding of the platform, extensive knowledge of gaming technology, and years of hands-on iOS development expertise. We take our client’s brilliant idea for a game app and turn it into a reality that users will love.

Art and Concept Design Services

Art and concept design is where the idea and styles of a game begin to take shape. It can demonstrate the client’s concept to publishers, stakeholders, and even their audience about the game idea and bring it to life in the viewer’s imagination. Our artists help to visually conceptualize the client’s game idea into a custom-fitted iPhone/iPad screen with precise hand-drawn sketches or illustrations to help choose the right style of the game.

Asset Designing Services

We specialize in designing art assets that can be used on every device. The client’s brand has a unique story, and it isn’t easy to do that without using any digital assets or media. As a result, knowing how to manage such art assets is crucial. We have an expert design team that creates optimized game sprites, sound effects, environment, multi-touch screen controls with a strong understanding of Scale Factors catering to all device screens.

iPad Game Development Services

iPad with its 9.7 & 12.9 retina display, great and robust CPU and graphics performance, better multi-touch capabilities, in-build high-fidelity speakers make this ideal for mobile gaming devices. The iOS game development company has expertise in utilizing 2D & 3D graphics for immersive gameplay and maximizing performance capabilities for any game.

iOS Single & Multiplayer Game Development Services

We are known as an iOS game development company that offers clients a real-time gaming experience to give users a thrilling and exciting experience. Our skilled iOS game developers are competent to build single and multiplayer games according to the client’s requisite. We assist clients in rendering 2D/3D scenes and making 2D/3D games in various genres.

iOS Game Development In-App Purchase

As a proficient iOS game development company, our developers have perfected various methods to offer In-App Purchase through iTunes, ranging from Paid App download, Power-Up & Game Currency purchase, Ad-Removal options to the additional purchase of content and unlockable items in-game and other game consumables.

Game Centre Integration Services

Networking, social integration, and parental controls are paramount in all games. Hire iOS game developers for custom game development who have hands-on experience integrating the client’s game through Apple Game Center to connect with friends, challenge, dominate leaderboards and gain achievements along with saving their game progression through multiple devices.

iTunes Deployment Services

Our specialists understand the intricate process of uploading the game in App Stores. Logic Simplified, the prominent iOS game development company, comprehends this process in detail and adheres to the iTunes Connect listing guidelines with SKU no. Bundle ID, Versioning, Metadata, icons and Screenshot into a Binary Upload and create the game package.

iOS Game Application Support and Maintenance

For better engagement and user experience, we offer full support and maintenance services after the launch of the game, including game balancing, iOS app upgrades, performance enhancements, and bug fixing. We take care of every phase of our client’s game and ensure that it is up-to-date with cutting-edge maintenance solutions.

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How Do We Develop iOS Games?

We have a team of 25 iOS game developers well supported by our creative design and art team, who have years of experience creating custom and optimized game assets, graphics, art style to immersive, fun games through a dedicated process. The process starts from taking concept inputs to developing the prototype, design, animation and graphics of optimum quality and exciting gameplay across iOS devices and matching its high standards.

iOS Game Development Process We Follow

Our trained iOS game developers step into your shoes to understand your thrilling ideas and deliver excellent games with stunning graphics and great visual appeal. Our Game development process involves the following steps:

• Gathering Information
• Conceptualization
• Prototype
• Development
• Testing
• Launch
• Maintenance & Support

Tools we have proficiency in to develop iOS games:

As a top-notch iOS game development company, we provide customized games using modern iOS technology. Our talented iOS game developers are passionate about modern tools in order to generate new iOS games that correspond to growing market trends. We employ the most current tools and technology such as: 

• OpenGL ES 3.0/3.1 - provides a great set of API to match your UI expectations
• Cocos2D, Cocos3D with Box2D and Chipmunk
• SceneKit, SpritKit & GameplayKit
• Unity3D
• Flash & AS3
• iPhone SDK
• X-Code
• Swift
• Objective-C,C++

Hire Proficient iOS Game Developers to Create 2D & 3D Games

Hire iOS game developers from Logic Simplified who produce innovative and interesting games for iPhones and iPad. Our 2D and 3D animators bring your game to life, resulting in a successful game on the App store. Hire developers from one of the well-known iOS game development companies who generate ultimate gameplay experiences for assured success.

Hire iOS Game Developer for 2D & 3D Games

Our Work

We specialize in iOS game development to develop projects that stand out and remain in the user's mind for a long time. Hire iOS game developers who have a depth of knowledge, allowing us to help world gaming firms with their most successful game titles.

50 + iOS Games

80 + Android Games

3 Console Games

20 + Cross-Platform Desktop Games

8 + Years in the Gaming Industry

80 + CGI Artists/ Developers

Architected & Developed

Game portal with 1 Million hits a day

 

Architected & Developed

Game portal with 1 Million hits a day

Why Hire Our Dedicated iOS Game Developers?

Hire iOS game developers from us that serves clients from around the world. We are highly qualified and specialists in making iOS games that are rich in graphics that attract users and generate revenues. Our creative coding and designing team have developed various successful games with exceptional UI plans with the latest seamless and ideal technology for iPhones.

Hardware Acceleration and Memory Optimization

Hire iOS game developers who have mastered the art of effective use of hardware components through tools and techniques to maximize the power and performance of the game. We also implement memory optimization techniques like texture packing, tile mapping and image sprite in our graphics, among other methods, to minimize the game’s memory footprint in the device.

Custom Flexible Budget

By hiring iOS game developers will benefit from low costs and high-quality development. We will work with you to come with a budget that will meet your needs.

Customized Services

We create outstanding iOS games by utilizing the latest features and providing an enhanced gaming experience. Our development team is highly trained and qualified in advanced technology, approaches, and techniques and comprehends the needs of the client. The team is well-versed in constructing custom apps that will strengthen your business, accelerate growth, and generate sales.

Constant Communication

Our iOS developers give you constant updates on the development of the project, and also set up weekly calls to gather inputs. They may discuss modifications, ensuring the game you want to provide to your end-users. Doing so will assist to reduce iterations and will increase the game development process.

Scalable iOS Game Development

We guarantee the deliverables’ scalability if you hire iOS game developers from Logic Simplified. We create games that can be effortlessly scalable by developing code on advanced technology. All our resources are focused on creating apps or games that can be scaled up or down according to your needs.

On-Time Delivery

We value time and money. So, our agile strategy guarantees that we deliver your projects on time. Once we commit to completing a project on a certain date, we use all our resources to assure on-time delivery of products of high quality unless there are any alterations in the requirements. 

Technical Support

Our 24x7 customer support is the best part of us. With round-the-clock support, our team will resolve all the problems and queries of the client. They will provide you with proper consultation and assist you in finding the best solution. We ensure to provide complete satisfaction to you with our expert approach.

Sure Shot Success

While developing numerous games on the iOS platform, we have gained competence in implementing social layering, analytics gathering tools, revenue generation streams and essential viral marketing techniques. This is done right from the conceptualization stage into their game using custom created hooks or appropriate SDKs to set the ROI expectation right from the Beta Launch Stage.

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Three Engagement Models of Working with the iOS Game Development Company

At Logic Simplified, you can hire iOS game developers with flexible hiring models and create a high performing and seamless creative game for the users.

1

Dedicated Team Model

Dedicated team model is one of the most suitable price models for a long-term game development company project that requires frequent modifications and evolving requirements. The client is charged every month to ensure that other necessary resources are available. You can hire iOS game developers through interviews and work closely with our team. Our in-house team of professionals assists you at each stage of game design. Here, you have full control of the game development process and the plan of action.

2

Fixed Cost Model

Once you will discuss your idea with our experts, they evaluate all the requirements of the projects. Right from the beginning, our experts have clarity about the project’s intricacies and requirements. The information gathered allows them to work effectively, and the game is ready to launch on the scheduled date. Our proficient team handles every aspect of your project. They provide their requirements, and our trained iOS game developers will deliver them on the promised date.

3

Time and Material

This is one of the most chosen models for game development. The cost in this flexible model is entirely determined by the number of resources and time required to finish the development of the game. The client is charged on the basis of hours for the work done. This iOS game development model makes extensive use of the Agile methodology. Choosing this model enables you and the team to generate ideas and accelerate the game development process quickly. Our in-house team of specialists helps you at each stage of game design for better outcomes.

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iOS and Other Creative Games We Developed

As an experienced iOS Game Development company, we create a world-class game user experience. Our qualified iOS game developers create high-quality 2D & 3D games with excellent performance. Our team has extensive experience in making creative and unique games to help you grow your businesses. Get a glimpse of what a game development project will look like after completion.

They croak, they hop, they have long tongues and they are lazy and slimy. These factors make frogs incapable of being portrayed as indomitable characters. Our iPhone game developers defied these odds while helping the client create the adventure-filled arcade shooting game Froganator. The gameplay the journey of a Frog across rapidly evolving environments; the frog has to adapt itself to these different settings. You are responsible for evolving your frog from a lazy fly eating amphibian to a fully equipped, alien fighting Froganator. The game is developed for the iOS platform and promises to act as the glue that binds the users to their iPhone or iPad screens.

Gameplay-Amphibians, aliens and the hunger conflict
Food is as essential in space as it is on earth. The objective of our game revolves around this philosophy as we aim to make our frog healthier by consuming insects of all sorts. This amazing game is set across earth and space. Our frog goes through mutations to become a Froganator, but his purpose of devouring insects remains the same. The more insects he gobbles, the healthier and bigger he becomes. Set across different settings you get to experience the serenity of a river, mutations through biological radiation and the continuation of your eating expedition through space. You collect diamond and gold coins throughout the game which help you upgrade your Froganator to adapt to changing environments. Just be careful not to gobble the Flashing bee as it will buzz down the health of your Frog.

Our iOS game development company created this game using the cocos2d framework and it used all the features of the Apple device adequately. The touch and slide feature are utilized to catch pray, avoid enemy weapons and collect coins and health. A wonderful UI and beautiful designing facilitated the creation of smooth backgrounds which undergo transitions as per the different levels. The backgrounds range from a simple river to a crimson colored toxic river before completely transforming into the star and asteroid filled space setting.

The Developo-nators
1 Team Lead, 1 Game Developer, 1 Graphic Designer and 1 Quality Analyst created this game in 1 month.

Hopping to an enhanced world
Froganator symbolizes the technological transition that occurs through the frogs journey. Games have been growing through a cyclone of up-gradation. The modern day games, just like the Froganator are very advanced as compared to their predecessors, depicted by the frog in the river. As the game progresses the Frog galvanizes into a full blown menacing mutant and transcends spatial boundaries. The same can be seen with technology these days.
Our game app developers understand these advancements and look forward to assisting you in hopping into this technologically enhanced world. We look forward to recreating your ideas into addictive games which live up to the current trends in game development.

The vengeance that Karma serves to the voracious and deliberately mean manifests itself in varied forms. At times it shows up as natural disasters, at others in the form of dengue infested mosquito. Our perspicacious client wanted to depict this in the form of an engaging game.  Our iPhone game developers fueled his thought juggernaut by helping him create Angry Ball Street, an iOS game where you get to teach fraudulent and nefarious people a lesson. All of the world’s anger is suffused into one big ball, which is hell-bent on trampling over everything in its path. This ball is purposely placed in the most notorious streets, to discipline the most scheming and deceitful people.

The objective of the game is to obtain maximum points in the stipulated time by trampling the throng of wrong doers, their cars and properties. You get to control the angry ball, through the swipe and tilt features, and run over baffled corrupt crowd and their belongings. You qualify for the next level once you acquire a preset score. Each new level comes with its own setting of crushable objects and special effects. iTunes offers a free version of the game with one unlocked level. Further levels of the game can be unlocked on payment.

The Wrath of the Raging Ball

The karmic forces get together to show consequences as an aftermath to the conniving nature of individuals. You get to assist these forces, which are manifested in a ball by running over deceptive people and their properties. This game required many specific animations and special effects. Our developers utilized Detonator to depict blasts and Particle system to show balloons in 3D animation. The particle system was also used to give users the option of putting Advertisements.

The client reached out to us to avail impeccable iPhone game development services and didn’t regret the decision of choosing us for his game. The game was developed on the Unity 3D development kit and it was coded using Javascript and C# on an SQlite database. A stat pathfinder was used to trace paths of the people running to save themselves from the raging ball. An InApp purchase integration facilitates the purchase of the paid levels of the game. Our Graphic designer specifically created the menus using the GUI skin so as to ensure a lively interface. Our Game Design India Team strived towards creating vibrant and pulsating designs to make the application stand out.

The team that set the ball rolling

1 Team Lead, 1 iOS Developer, 1 Graphic Designer and 1 Quality Analyst brought this project to fruition in 3 months.

Temporal transits

We are a game app developer striving to create profitable games, which help people overcome bouts of boredom in the most pleasurable manner. This addictive application will keep you glued to your screens for endless hours. We have been successfully able to capture user's attention through a refined game-play and wonderful special effects. This game is specially created for people who get bored very fast and are eager to do something about keeping themselves entertained.