Apple has fallen from eighth out of 38 companies to the bottom of the GlobalData’s gaming software thematic scorecard amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Rupantar Guha, Senior Analyst for Thematic Research, offers his view: “Apple’s fall in the gaming software scorecard can be attributed to changes the company has made in its gaming revenue channels, the App Store and Arcade, due to COVID-19. The forced removal of the trending Plague Inc. (an Apple-exclusive title) from the Chinese App Store in February 2020 slowed its growth in China, the largest gaming market in the world.

“Apple is trying to benefit from surging demand for gaming by offering a 30-day free trial of its Apple Arcade service to new subscribers. It is unclear if this will be enough to attract a significant number of new subscribers.

“In addition, Apple has yet to announce a move into esports, while its rivals such as Google, Amazon and Tencent already have strong footholds in key areas of the esports value chain. Although esports currently caters to a niche audience – almost 10% of the global online population of around 4.5 billion – its reach is expanding rapidly.

“Despite having the tech capabilities and potential esports titles on the Apple Arcade, Apple has failed to benefit from the thriving esports market during the global lockdown.”