Assassin's Creed: Mirage & Co.: Report: AAA console titles flop mercilessly on mobile

Nowadays, more and more AAA titles are being released for mobile platforms thanks to powerful smartphones. However, a new report shows that the games are flopping badly.

Big PC and console blockbusters on smartphones or tablets? Sounds tempting at first, at least for publishers as an additional source of income. And thanks to more powerful smartphones, this is basically no longer a problem; after all, titles like Assassin's Creed: Mirage, Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village have already made it into Apple or Google's mobile stores.

But what sounds sensible in principle seems to have turned out to be a complete failure. At least that is what a report by Appfigures says, published by Mobilegamerwho took a closer look at the sales figures of AAA brands on the iPhone and the result is likely to be quite shocking for the optimistic publishers. The AAA titles are apparently attracting comparatively little interest and even fewer players are willing to spend money on them.

Assassin's Creed: Mirage, for example, has been downloaded 123,000 times since June 6, which is already a pretty measly number. However, only 3,000 players have actually overcome the hefty paywall of $49.99 and actually bought the game beyond the free trial period. The fact that Mirage is only playable on 15-inch iPhones and high-end tablets certainly plays a role, but that alone is apparently not an argument.

Things aren't much better for Resident Evil 4. For 357,000 downloads, only 7,000 players actually spent the almost $30 on the title. For RE Village, based on the price, there were only about 6,000 paying players and 370,000 downloads. Death Stranding, with just over 10,000 paying players according to the report, is no beacon in the darkness either.

Appmagic has done a similar study, and the numbers are a little more positive, but are still well below what you would expect from AAA brands. The combination of full price and the large number of free or low-price titles available is unlikely to help, as is the fact that many people are unaware that such titles are being released on mobile platforms.

“I fear that even when consumers realize they can play AC Mirage on their phones and tablets, the $50 to unlock the game will end the decision-making process right there. Consumers using Apple's latest hardware will also likely be more likely to own current-generation gaming consoles that can play these games in 4K with cinema-quality sound for the same price – or less,” says Appfigures.