Infinity Blade Removed from iOS App Store

AlphaAtlas

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In a surprise move, Epic Games announced that they are removing all three Infinity Blade games from the iOS App Store. The games have long been a staple of the App Store's gaming section, and both Apple and Epic frequently used the series to show off advances in mobile hardware and Unreal Engine. Epic Games claims that "it has become increasingly difficult for our team to support the Infinity Blade series at a level that meets our standards," while noting that existing owners will still be able to play, and that a big update is still coming to Infinity Blade III. While the loss of Infinity Blade isn't exactly Earth shattering, Touch Arcade notes that this says a lot about the state of Apple's App Store as a gaming platform.

Epic is on top of the world right now, and it being "increasingly difficult" to support likely has everything to do with the dismal state of premium games on the App Store in 2018 and it just not being worth Epic's while to continue supporting the Infinity Blade trilogy. Just let that sink in for a minute. The game company that has the biggest hit in the world, and is raking in so much cash that they're even opening their own online game distribution platform for developers with absurdly generous terms can’t make sense out of continuing to maintain their mobile games. Their mobile games which have been extensively featured by Apple at every possible opportunity and were effectively platform-defining when they were released are now ... increasingly difficult to support. What in the hell.
 
I really dislike when games are removed and the ability to buy them also is gone. Sometimes I even pick up old titles just for nostalgia but I like that I have the option to do so. I normally don't condone pirating games, but if it is not for sale....(shrugs).

Over dramatic I know but this isn't a warming sign of them opening their own store if they pull games that aren't worth the effort.
 
I think only certain types of games really work mobile and that wasn't one of them. The touch interface doesn't work well with combat gaming or fps or fighting games. It's just pathetic. Now Angrybirds, Solitare, Pool, sure...
 
Bet they won't pull the iOS Fornite app though. Makes too much money.

The decision to drop support for this game has nothing to do with iOS/App Store and more to do with the fact that they have more lucrative IPs to support. Says nothing about the App Store at all.

Sucks the game got pulled though. I was pretty into this series years ago. As repetitive as they were, it was a solid time waster on the can and I easily spent too many total hours playing part 2 when that came out.
 
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This says precisely nothing about the state of the App Store. Epic just launched a game store. I wonder why they would pull their games from a competitor's game store at the same time?

The geniuses over at "Touch Arcade" must not follow the industry at large.
 
I think this has more to do with the state of those older games Infinity blade 3 came out in what 2013? iOS has gone through a lot of changes and so has the back end. I find it more likely that the game needs core updates to make it compatible with newer iOS or hardware releases and it’s not making enough to justify the expense.
 
I'm guessing it's not hard to support this at all. I'm guessing that supporting it is costing them money. It is a fixed price game in which the newest iteration is over 5 years old. So it is either time to end support, or it is time to "remaster" it and turn it into a fremium game that nags you to buy shit constantly. Maybe call it Infinity blade: legends or something.
 
This says precisely nothing about the state of the App Store. Epic just launched a game store. I wonder why they would pull their games from a competitor's game store at the same time?

The geniuses over at "Touch Arcade" must not follow the industry at large.

well.... you kind of have to be in the iOS store to be on an iPhone so there is that.
 
I'm guessing it's not hard to support this at all. I'm guessing that supporting it is costing them money. It is a fixed price game in which the newest iteration is over 5 years old. So it is either time to end support, or it is time to "remaster" it and turn it into a fremium game that nags you to buy shit constantly. Maybe call it Infinity blade: legends or something.

You're exactly right. It has no continuing revenue, so why support it?
 
Huh. I actually really enjoyed that game back when I had an iPhone. It's basically a fantasy-themed spin on Punch Out. I actually hoped there might be an Android version.
 
So most of you missed the part that says this won't affect current owners ability to play?
 
Apple probably forced them to pull it because it runs on old devices, and doesn't force users to upgrade.
 
So most of you missed the part that says this won't affect current owners ability to play on current hardware?
My edit is in red. They are pulling it because they no longer wish to support it. Which means, how long the game continues to work is a mystery. The games may stop working correctly on the very next iteration of the iphone/ipad, or it may last a few more years, but eventually it will stop working.
If they don't intend to continue support, pulling it out of the store is the correct decision imo. Some of us are just sad to see it go.
 
You can still download the games if you previously purchased them, so at least there is that.
 
I want to point out Epic has released the assets from these games several times for use (for free) in Unreal Engine. They also did that for the Paragon assets after they shut it down. Might see all the Infinity Blade assets up for use soon.
 
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