I won’t take gaming on Apple TV serious until 3 changes happen

Recently, Apple inadvertently leaked a bunch of upcoming products, such as new iPad mini and HomePod mini models. As you’d guess, one of the items tucked in the list was a new version of the Apple TV 4K, last updated in 2022. No, we’re not about to get the inevitable Apple TV 8K, at least not yet.

But the device should make the leap from an A15 processor to the A17 Pro, which initially shipped with the iPhone 15 Pro. That’s a bigger deal than it might seem, since it meets the minimum requirements not just for Apple Intelligence, but for some console-level games. The Apple TV isn’t about to smoke the PlayStation 5 Pro, much less a newer gaming PC, but there is some potential.

I’m not counting on Apple delivering on that potential, however. Mostly it’s about the company’s track record with the Apple TV and gaming in general. But there’s also no sign that the company is making moves that would genuinely establish the Apple TV as an alternative to a PlayStation, Xbox, or Switch.

1

Apple doesn’t invest any effort in bringing games to tvOS

Welcome to the desert of the real

Nomada Studio

There are, undoubtedly, a bunch of good games on tvOS App Store if you haven’t tried any before. In fact, I have multiple Jackbox Party Packs on my Apple TV, simply because there’s no better place to play those than in the living room. I have fond memories of sharing mini-games like Fibbage and Quiplash with my friends back in Austin.

You’ll also find some high-quality solo games available, such as Gris, Balatro, Dead Cells, and Donut County — but the catalog is just a fraction of what’s available to iPhone and iPad users, let alone what’s on PCs and consoles. As if that weren’t enough, some of the better tvOS titles are gated behind an Apple Arcade subscription, including Balatro — no matter that iPhone and iPad owners can buy a standalone version. I get the business case for wanting to nudge people towards Arcade, but that doesn’t exactly lend itself to growing the Apple TV as a gaming platform. Developers aren’t always willing to have their income and player-base tethered to a subscription. Perhaps they wouldn’t even develop for the Apple TV without a cash incentive from Apple.

That gets to my broader point, which is that, one way or another, Apple just hasn’t exerted much effort in trying to bring games to the platform. The company puts on a show when it has new hardware or software of its own, but then puts in a fraction of the effort companies like Microsoft and Sony do to court outside studios. For now, you’re probably better hooking up a Steam Deck if you want to play a diverse range of games on your TV.

2

There aren’t any first-party Apple TV gaming accessories

Outsourcing won’t help here

If you want to control an Apple TV, you’ve got three first-party options, excluding AirPlay: the Siri Remote, an iPhone or iPad, or an Apple Watch. That’s it. You might be able to pair a Magic Keyboard, but I wouldn’t count on that being very useful beyond making typing easier.

This is an issue because few games play well with the Siri Remote — forget mimicking one with your phone. Platformers like Dead Cells effectively require a gamepad, since even without any consideration for responsiveness, there just aren’t enough buttons to play them properly. I can’t imagine attempting to play a 3D action game like Resident Evil Village (assuming it ever gets ported).

Apple’s solution is to let you pair third-party Bluetooth controllers, including native Xbox and PlayStation gamepads. But while this works, this arrangement means that there’s no way to hit the ground running for gaming. You can’t buy an Apple TV gaming bundle at an Apple Store, much less a first-party Apple controller, so many people may not even be aware that console-style gaming is an option. Effectively, the company is asking casual players to stumble into tvOS games that won’t work with a Siri Remote, then figure out how they can fix that. It’s not a recipe for success.

If nothing else, Apple needs that first-party controller. If gamers could buy a single accessory that would automatically switch between any device on their Apple Account, that would go a long way towards boosting gaming across all of Apple’s platforms.

3

The Apple TV’s hardware isn’t designed to keep up for long

The dilemma of future-proofing versus affordability

For streaming music and video, the specs of any Apple TV 4K are rock-solid. My wife and I have a 2017 model that’s still humming along perfectly with apps like YouTube and Disney+, despite using an A10X processor most other Apple platforms have abandoned. Our 2021 model with an A12 chip is even faster, and as mentioned, the 2022 device has an A15. You’re getting the smoothest media streaming possible short of connecting a desktop PC.

The A17 Pro should allow more high-end games to appear on the Apple TV, if developers can be coaxed into it — but for that purpose, it’s barely enough. Returning to Resident Evil Village as an example, you have to reduce detail to get that game running smoothly on an iPhone 15 Pro, and even then it’s pushing the hardware to its limits, despite having originally shipped for the PS5 in 2021. Anything that pushes the A17 Pro much harder could potentially be unplayable. For the sake of future-proofing, it would’ve been better to choose an A18, if not the A19 slated for the iPhone 17.

To be fair to Apple, the company is walking a tightrope. At $130 to $150, the Apple TV is already more expensive than most media streamers, and shifting the hardware much further into gaming territory could send it over the $200 mark. Rumors have suggested the company is looking to go in the opposite direction price-wise, in which case I might count myself lucky to get an A17 Pro.

Another spec militating against gaming is storage. The $130 model has 64GB — which is more than enough for streaming apps, but could run out in a hurry with triple-A games. On PCs and consoles, the latest Call of Duty alone more than doubles that footprint. A truly gaming-oriented Apple TV would probably need 256GB or more, but I can’t see that happening given the price considerations above.

Is gaming doomed on Apple TV? Possibly. It’ll be hard to say much else until Apple reveals the 2025 model at its September 2025 press event. If there isn’t some fundamental leap, you can assume that Apple has resigned itself to the streaming arena.