Apple is adding the Indie Showcase section to its App Store to give independent game creators a chance to showcase their games and further reach out to more iOS users.
Apple's Indie Showcase section features new and previously released indie games. The featured titles are a mix of free-to-play and paid games which will be refreshed with new titles daily. The titles featured in the section will also be promoted on the App Store's main page and game pages.
For now, it is unclear how often Apple is planning to rotate the game titles in the Indie Showcase section, but they have added categories for new indies, a top 25-list, and a deals section. Polygon reported that placement of the titles are curated solely by Apple and will not give studios the option to purchase favorable positioning in the section for their games.
The same source also reported that making the Indie Showcase section a permanent feature in the App Store was anticipated following the two-week promotion of several indie games. Several titles included during the promotion was Mushroom II which was originally a PC title that jumped to mobile just last week, Super Hexagon and Device 6.
Itay Keren, the creator of the indie game Mushroom 11 which was featured in the Indie Showcase section, told IGN that "Apple has always been a champion for indie games, and many of the biggest titles through the years were the product of small independent teams."
For years, independent game developers have criticized big app stores such as Apple for always prioritizing big studio games. But over the years, Apple has acknowledged that independent games play a big role in the App Store. Small game studios have struggled to compete with bigger developers due to lack of funds and resources to market and promote their games. The move to add a permanent sub-section for indie titles is considered to be a game changer for these small studios.