Apple is reportedly planning a gaming subscription service

Apple is reportedly planning on launching a premium games subscription service for the App Store, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Bloomberg say that the service won’t be cloud-based, like the Google Stadia, but will instead focus on bundling together paid games for a set monthly fee. The games would come from different developers to form each bundle.

According to one source who spoke to Bloomberg, Apple’s plans involve collecting the monthly fees and then splitting the revenue between developers based on how much time players have spent playing their games.

The company is also more likely to bundle paid titles together and exclude entirely free titles or titles which are free-to-play but contain microtransactions.

Bloomberg say that Apple could discuss this new gaming service as soon as Monday the 25th, or they may leave it until their developers conference later in 2019.

The App Store has come along in leaps and bounds in the past few years, especially as many previously console exclusive or PC-only game titles are starting to develop mobile ports for their games.

Big name games such as Sid Meier’s Civilisation VI, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, and select titles from the Grand Theft Auto series now all have their own mobile ports, allowing for gaming on the go. It makes sense that Apple would want to capitalise on such a potentially lucrative service.

Source: Bloomberg.