The Cupertino-based tech giant has never acquired a development team before. This is a first for Apple.

Apple bought a game developer for the first time, but claims this does not signal a change in direction for the iPhone maker. RAC7, the two-person development company behind the 2019 Apple Arcade hit Sneaky Sasquatch, will continue its partnership with Apple as an in-house studio. “We love Sneaky Sasquatch and are excited that the two-person RAC7 team has joined Apple to continue their work on it with us. We will continue to deliver a great experience for Apple Arcade players with hundreds of games from many of the best game developers in the world,” a company spokesperson told Digital Trends.

Apple also noted that this is a unique circumstance because the company saw an opportunity to help the team grow alongside the Apple Arcade subscription service. The acquisition does not necessarily mark the start of a new gaming strategy, Apple said, and the company will continue to work with third-party studios to create games for Apple Arcade. Last year, Alex Rofman, senior director of Apple Arcade, told Digital Trends that RAC7’s Sneaky Sasquatch was one of the service’s biggest successes. He said they hear from customers all over the world whose kids want Sneaky Sasquatch birthday parties.

Hopefully, Apple’s strategy won’t be as farcical as Google’s was back in the day. Remember Stadia Games & Entertainment, run by Jade Raymond, one of the main people behind Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed? We recently wrote about her departure from Sony-owned Haven Studios. Google’s cloud service was supposed to have in-house game development, but the company ended up buying only one studio. Now that’s something to look forward to from Apple! Even Netflix has struggled to understand the company’s vision for internal development.

Source : VGC, Digital Trends, Digital Trends