One of the big surprises of the iPhone 15 launch was the news that the iPhone 15 Pro, or rather the A17 Pro chip powering it, will be capable of running AAA video games. The kind of games that would normally have to run on a console, PC or Mac — because other phones don’t have the resources those games need.
As it stands we don’t know about how these games will play, only that some liberties will have to be taken to ensure smooth running on the iPhone 15 Pro. But since the first wave of AAA games won’t be available until later this year, we can’t say for sure how it will impact the gameplay.
But no matter what, the performance upgrades and ray tracing capabilities coming to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max should ensure that these games are some of the best-looking games ever to hit a smartphone. And here are the titles we know are on the way.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
While Apple didn’t announce it during the iPhone 15 launch event, Kojima Productions has confirmed that the Death Stranding Director’s Cut will be coming to iPhone 15 Pro at the end of this year. Death Stranding takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, and puts you in the shoes of Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with delivering supplies to remote colonies across the United States while also dodging supernatural creatures and anomalies in the open world.
Death Stranding was praised for its story and setting, though the pace and gameplay proved to be a little frustrating for some. Particularly since it’s mainly a game about walking and delivering packages. The Director’s Cut comes with new tools and equipment, as well as visual enhancements over the original game — though how much of those enhancements will transfer to iPhone is unclear right now.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Resident Evil 4 is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic games to ever be released — and the remake takes that game and gives it a much-needed visual makeover. As we noted in our Resident Evil 4 Remake review, there are some aspects of the game that haven’t aged well. Still the various tweaks and enhancements that were made to the mechanics were a very welcome addition to the game.
In fact Tom’s Guide computing writer Tony Polanco called the game the best remake he’d ever played — which is no small praise. Needless to say we’re looking forward to seeing just how well it translates to iPhone 15 Pro when it arrives later this year.
Resident Evil Village
“Almost perfect” is how we described the game in our Resident Evil Village review. It’s a game that can absolutely scare you silly, while still being a memorable instalment in the long-running video game franchise. A direct sequel to Resident Evil 7, Village put you back in the shoes of Ethan Winters — who crashed outside the titular village during a botched kidnapping.
Only this is no ordinary village, it’s one populated by monsters of all kinds — vampires, werewolves and more. Ethan has to traverse the village, fighting and dodging the inhabitants as he searches for his 6-month old daughter Rosemary. And it’s coming to the iPhone 15 Pro later this year.
The Division: Resurgence
Interestingly, this is the one iPhone 15 Pro game Apple announced that wasn’t originally intended for a console. The Division Resurgence is a mobile title that will arrive on other iOS and Android devices, though the iPhone 15 Pro should come with a distinct advantage with the A17 Pro.
There’s a lot we still don’t know about this game, other than the fact it’s set in the same world as The Division and The Division 2. We don’t even know when the game is going to be released. At the very least we should expect smoother graphics, better ray tracing capabilities and better power efficiency than other phones.
Assassin's Creed Mirage
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is set to take the franchise back to its roots, in terms of gameplay and storytelling. In fact we called the game the Assassin’s Creed experience fans have been missing in our hands-on — with developers making the game more linear and story focussed than previous instalments.
The game puts you in the shoes of Basim, a 9th century assassin based in and around Baghdad, which long-time fans will recognise is much closer in setting to the original game than its many sequels. The game isn’t out on PC and console until October 5, and won’t hit iPhone 15 Pro until early next year, so we haven’t had a chance to play the full game yet. Needless to say things are looking good, and we're excited to see what Mirage has to offer.
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