Games Porting
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/ Games Porting /
The Survivalists
Hits Apple Arcade (iOS, macOS, and tvOS) in Just 3 Months
Same-day
release
on all platforms
76/100
score
on Metacritic
76%
rating
on Steam
/ Testimonials /
“A chill survival experience” to explore with friends
The Games Machine
8.5/10
Fun survival sandbox which can be played both as an arcade adventure [...] and with a more casual approach.
Rocket Chainsaw
4/5
A casual vibe to the game, where exploration and creativity is allowed to flourish.
Pocket Tactics
7/10
Is it worth it as part of Apple Arcade? Absolutely.
Google user review
5/5
Good and challenging with a lot of things to build and explore
/ Project overview /
Pingle & Team17
About the game
The Survivalists is a cooperative sandbox survival game in the Escapists universe, developed and published by Team 17. Players explore procedurally generated islands, gather resources, craft tools, and recruit monkeys to assist with tasks and combat.
Client
Team17
Solution
Porting
Engine
Platforms
Release
Nintendo Switch, PC, Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Apple Arcade
October 9, 2020
Partnership timeline
Month-Month, 2020
About Pingle & Team17 partnership
Team17 tasked Pingle to bring their coop survival sandbox to Apple Arcade, including devices with just 2GB RAM. We kicked off with a quick technical scoping phase, then took the game all the way to launch, optimizing performance and guiding it through Apple’s review.
/ The Challenge /
Coop survival on Apple Arcade, even with 2GB RAM
The Survivalists is a cooperative sandbox survival game where players share resources, train monkeys, and build together. That required real-time networking, cross-save, and keeping player progress intact across sessions and devices. Every piece had to be optimized for Apple Arcade and pass Apple’s approval process, which meant dealing with:
- Memory limits: Stable multiplayer on devices with just 2GB RAM.
- Game Center: Rewrite the original networking to fit Apple’s APIs.
- Cross-save: Sync progress across iOS, tvOS, and macOS.
- Touch controls: Design a mobile-native experience
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/ Phase 1 /
Coop networking optimized for Apple Arcade
Adapting a multiplayer survival game for 2GB RAM devices meant squeezing network usage down without losing stability. So we:
1
Profiled network traffic and removed redundant calls
2
Batched operations to reduce overhead
3
Tuned sync frequency for low-end devices
/ Phase 2 /
Game Center integration for seamless coop
We had to rewrite the multiplayer layer’s logic to fit within Apple’s Game Center API possibilities:
1
Produced detailed technical design docs to plan around API limits
2
Re-implemented matchmaking, invites, and session management
3
Ensured stable cross-platform performance on iOS, tvOS, and macOS
/ Phase 3 /
Mobile controls and cross-save implemented
To make the game feel natural on Apple devices, we redesigned both input and save systems:
1
Built and tested multiple touch control prototypes with focus groups
2
Polished gestures and latency for responsive feel
3
Audited and rebuilt save system for cross-platform sync across iOS, macOS, and tvOS
/ Phase 4 /
Apple Arcade review passed
To pass Apple Arcade review, the game had to run smoothly even on 2GB RAM devices like iPhone 7 or iPad Air 2, so we:
1
Created a prioritized optimization list
2
Tuned graphics and memory usage for older and low-RAM devices
3
Worked with Apple team to validate fixes and improvements
/ The results /
The Survivalists passes Apple review on the first attempt, in time for game’s multi-platform launch
Before
After
Multiplayer logic built for PC/consoles
Stable coop on mobile (2GB devices included)
Progress saved separately on each device (iOS, Mac, Apple TV didn’t sync)
Integrated save system across iOS, tvOS, and macOS
Required fresh certification efforts per device class
Single streamlined certification pass for all supported devices
/ The team /
Cast
- 11 specialists
- Unity C# programmers
- Unity technical artists
- Game Testers
- Project Manager
/ Cases /
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