Apple TV game developers will be required to include support for the new set top box’s standard touch-based remote, ensuring all Apple TV owners will be able to play available games without being required to purchase a third-party MFi gaming controller.
As noted by developer Dustin Westphal and shared by our sister site Touch Arcade, Apple’s App Programming Guide for the tvOS says the following: “Your game must support the Apple TV remote. Your game may not require the use of a controller.”
Although third-party Bluetooth gaming controllers will be compatible with the new Apple TV, as an optional accessory, they will not be allowed to be the primary controller for any games.
Touch Arcade notes developers will see the rules as a hassle, especially for games that may require complicated control systems.
There will be games that will have control schemes that are too complicated for the remote, for sure. What if Apple rejects apps that feature terrible controls for the remote, designed only to achieve the bare minimum functionality? Or developers with complicated controls decide to skip making their app compatible with the Apple TV because it won’t be worth it? Ideally, we don’t want to get to a point where games aren’t coming to the Apple TV, or being actively rejected, because they won’t fit the remote.
While Apple is said to have originally planned to allow developers to require a gaming controller, the company backed away from that idea, likely due to setting a precedent with a similar requirement for iOS games.
