800 Games Now Support MFi Controllers

We passed quite a milestone tonight: there are officially 800 games in the MFi game database with MFi controller support!

This seems like a fitting time to celebrate such a milestone. We've come so, so far from where we were when the MFi controller program first launched.

Apple's new iPhone 6S lineup, on sale tomorrow, represents a massive improvement over the best we had when the MFi controller program started. The iPhone 5 was cutting edge at the time, but the new devices have over 4X faster CPU performance and over 10X better GPU performance. The types of games today's iPhones can play would have been impossible when the MFi program launched.

MFi controllers themselves have come a long way. The first controllers were basically garbage, marked up to almost $100, and compatible only with iPhones. Today, we have a wealth of excellent controllers to choose from: the killer general-purpose Mad Catz pads, the retro-friendly Horipad with it's top-class d-pad, and the Gamevice, which turns the iPad into a stellar game console.

Even more important, we're on the cusp of the next major part of Apple's gaming journey. The new Apple TV, launching in a few short months, is poised to drastically expand the hardcore iOS gaming landscape. It's new companion "Nimbus" controller looks like one of the best MFi controllers yet. Hundreds of developers have their hands on preview units, and are busy porting their iOS games to work with the new hardware, adding MFi controller support in the process. The number of confirmed Apple TV games keeps growing every day.

We have Minecraft, one of the biggest games of all time, running on a Gamevice. We have the Grand Theft Auto series – one of the most important game series of all time, and one that drastically expanded what I game could do, in both storytelling and gameplay. We have Disney Infinity 3.0 launching on iOS within days of its console launch, and fully supporting all the latest iOS bells and whistles like Metal and iCloud. We have Final Fantasy III through Final Fantasy VII, hundreds of hours of some of the finest RPG storytelling ever, the best they've ever been, here on iOS.

The list of games is staggering. Bastion, Game of Thrones, KOTOR, Monster Hunter, Skylanders, Worms, the Sonic series, Call of Duty… whatever game you're in to, you'll find something to play with an MFi controller.

So yeah. 800 controller compatible games is a great milestone. It's one worth celebrating. It's more games than the Xbox One and PS4 have managed to achieve in their lifespans, combined. But make no mistake, this journey is far from over. The state of hardcore gaming on iOS is certainly not perfect, but it has a bright future.