What you need to know
- The initial roll out of Catalyst apps has been shaky to say the least.
- Developers continue to voice their concerns regarding the way creating Catalyst apps will work.
- Two major developers, Asphanlt 9 and DC Universe, that were headlining the Catalyst release have backed out.
Updated 10:40 am PT: Gameloft provided Bloomberg with a comment on the story saying Asphalt 9 for Catalyst has been "slightly delayed."
Gameloft says Asphalt 9 for Mac Catalyst has been “slightly delayed” in order to “polish the experience” and that it will launch later this year. https://t.co/ZcS8F2pzGr https://t.co/CZeK3ySdbpGameloft says Asphalt 9 for Mac Catalyst has been “slightly delayed” in order to “polish the experience” and that it will launch later this year. https://t.co/ZcS8F2pzGr https://t.co/CZeK3ySdbp— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) October 8, 2019October 8, 2019
Apple released macOS Catalina this week along with Catalyst. It was supposed to usher in a new era of app porting, but instead it has been a bumpy ride with two major developers already backing out of offering Catalyst apps.
According to Bloomberg, Asphalt 9 and DC Universe—two developers Apple said would headline the Catalyst app catalog during WWDC 2019—have backed out of offering Catalyst apps amid developer concerns. Apple has removed their names from its site.
Developer Steve Troughton-Smith notes that the focus of Catalyst isn't on gaming, so it makes it difficult for developers to port games without the proper features.
If I were a betting man, I would say gameloft would love to have shipped Asphalt 9 for Mac yesterday, but Apple hasn't built Catalyst with games in mind at all, and there's a list of features that games need that are unavailable through Catalyst — not least of which is key input https://t.co/HNU9LkR5geIf I were a betting man, I would say gameloft would love to have shipped Asphalt 9 for Mac yesterday, but Apple hasn't built Catalyst with games in mind at all, and there's a list of features that games need that are unavailable through Catalyst — not least of which is key input https://t.co/HNU9LkR5ge— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) October 8, 2019October 8, 2019
Netflix has confirmed it will not be making a Catalyst app.
Most of the concern relates to the process of porting apps over and its consequences, such as making customers pay twice for the same app.
Additionally, PCalc developer James Thompson said the process of creating a Catalyst version of his app was more complicated than he thought it would be.
James Thompson has had to work harder than he expected to get his popular PCalc calculator iPad app running well on Mac computers. Getting paid a second time for that extra work makes sense for developers, but consumers may not immediately understand that after Apple made the porting process sound as easy as checking a box, he said.
It's a rocky start for Catalyst, but its end goal still provides a bright future for the Mac. At least, it will once Apple fixes all of the initial hurdles that have come up.
