“Assassin’s Creed Visions” Coming to iPhone 15 Pro: iPhone Emerges as Native 3A Gaming Platform to Compete with PCs and Consoles
In a groundbreaking move, “Assassin’s Creed Visions” will be available on the iPhone 15 Pro in early 2024, positioning the iPhone as an emerging native 3A gaming platform to rival PCs and consoles. Traditionally, AAA games, which require significant time and investment in production, have been exclusive to high-performance PCs and game consoles. However, Apple is breaking down this barrier by equipping the iPhone 15 Pro with industry-leading performance capabilities.
AAA games, such as Sony’s “The Last of Us 2,” are known for their massive production costs and lengthy development processes. For instance, “The Last of Us 2” required a staggering $220 million investment and took more than five years to complete with the involvement of over 200 employees. Apple aims to disrupt this conventional paradigm by leveraging the power of the iPhone 15 Pro.
The iPhone 15 Pro introduces the industry’s first 3nm process chip, significantly enhancing GPU performance. With hardware acceleration, ray tracing capabilities, and a faster graphics processor than its predecessor, the iPhone 15 Pro’s gaming potential reaches mid-range gaming PC levels. To put this into perspective, the minimum hardware requirements for the PC version of “Assassin’s Creed Visions,” such as an Intel i5 processor and NVIDIA GTX 1060, are now matched by the iPhone 15 Pro.
Notably, other popular 3A games, including “Castle 4 Remastered,” “Castle: Village,” and “Death Stranding,” will also be available on the iPhone. Apple’s in-house development of chips, which has already been successfully utilized in Mac computers, simplifies the porting process and expands the reach of these games across multiple Apple devices.
Apple’s extensive software and hardware ecosystem, encompassing Apple TV, iMac, iPad, and iPhone, positions the company to create a versatile gaming platform that caters to various screen sizes and scenarios. This integrated approach allows for seamless gaming experiences across Apple devices.
In addition to superior performance capabilities, Apple also boasts a massive advantage in distribution pipelines. With over 2 billion active devices and 1 billion service subscription users, Apple’s user base surpasses that of Steam, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo combined. This extensive reach ensures that games released on Apple platforms, especially the iOS family, will have access to a wide audience. As more iPhones become capable of running 3A games, game manufacturers will gravitate towards the iPhone as a lucrative distribution channel.
The rise of cross-platform gaming models, exemplified by successful games like “Fortnite” and MiHoYo’s “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai: Star Rail,” demonstrates the feasibility of blending AAA game specifications with free-to-play (F2P) operating models. This shift in the gaming business model allows for heightened success opportunities and wider accessibility.
The demand for playing AAA games anytime and anywhere is on the rise, as evidenced by the success of the Nintendo Switch and the handheld console SteamDeck. Portable consoles with better performance are becoming increasingly popular, indicating a shift in the gaming landscape. Furthermore, recent reports suggest that 3A games, such as “The Matrix” developed by Unreal 5, are no longer confined to living room consoles, further extending their reach.
The long-standing debate between mobile games and console games has found a battleground on the same screen, where iPhones and next-gen consoles like the PS5 compete for players’ attention. As the iPhone emerges as a native 3A gaming platform, the boundaries between mobile gaming and traditional gaming continue to blur, igniting a new era of possibilities for gamers and developers alike.