Apple TV game developers are required to support the Siri remote
The new Apple TV will support third-party game controllers in in its attempt to bring iOS-style gaming to the living room — but developers can't make those controllers a requirement. In a programming guide for Apple's new tvOS platform, the company notes that every game developed for the Apple TV is required to support the touchpad-enabled Siri remote. That's a change from what Apple originally announced last week. Developer Rusty Moher tweeted a section of the same programming guide back on September 9th when Apple first announced tvOS; at the time, it said developers could require an "extended" game controller, though developers were discouraged from doing so. Since then, it appears that Apple has changed its tune.
@austin_walker Ahh, found. Yes, confirmed. https://t.co/MP22DyKWn9 pic.twitter.com/ahUWMMhWQF
— Rusty Moyher (@rustym) September 9, 2015
This new requirement could significantly change the kinds of games developers are able to target for the new system — the new Siri remote is certainly more capable than the one it is replacing, but it's still not the ideal game controller. And at least one notable game — Guitar Hero — is clearly not going to work with the Siri remote. It's possible Activision has a deal with Apple here, but that won't help the other developers who may have already started building Apple TV games with specific third-party controllers in mind. It's still over a month before the new Apple TV launches, so we'll likely here more on this front as developers continue to try and get their games ready for Apple's latest app store.