Take

In February, game developers began expressing frustration over Apple Arcade. They pointed out that while the service was initially profitable, Apple had begun decreasing upfront payments and the per-play "bonus pool."

Additionally, the tech giant began to axe projects with little to no warning.

[..]

"We can go weeks without hearing from Apple at all and their general response time to emails is three weeks, if they reply at all," one developer told Mobilegamer.biz.

Some have even called Apple's tech support "miserable" and the worst they'd seen anywhere. Even the QA and update process is frustrating, prompting some developers to avoid updating their games altogether.

Apple does not get games. Apple does not respect developers. Apple ships a dictionary defining the word "symbiosis", but chances are the many Apple employees who understand it are not in a position to effect it.

There is a kernel of a good idea inside the vision for Apple Arcade: pay developers to make games that it would be hard to get made otherwise, and let those games have an instant, massive audience. But while you would have to be as headstrong and independent as Apple to try to chart this course and hold onto it, Apple itself is just too caught up in other factors to make it fly.

These reports are particularly interesting, since the perennial defense of app store-encumbered platforms are to refer to them as game consoles but for apps. Apple Arcade games are headliners flying closer to the Apple brand than other games; they should be getting ultra deluxe treatment compared to App Store apps, and yet it doesn't measure up to the levels delivered by game consoles or independent storefronts like Steam.