Apple Inc. is looking to the $138 billion video game market for growth opportunities, a new report claims.

Online news network Cheddar today cited five unnamed sources as saying the iPhone maker is working on a Netflix-style game subscription service. According to the tipsters, the platform would provide users with access to a bundled lineup of titles for a fixed monthly fee.

Though video games aren’t exactly Apple’s core competency, it’s not farfetched to imagine the company would seek to enter this market. The iPhone maker already has an established presence in the broader entertainment market through Apple Music and is reportedly developing a video streaming service to rival Netflix.

Games generate more revenue than the music and movie industries combined. Furthermore, mobile titles of the kind Apple’s planned service would presumably offer account for more than half of total industry sales, a share that is only expected to rise. Market intelligence firm Newzoo projects that mobile games will hit $100 billion in annual revenue by 2021.

The slowing global demand for mobile devices gives Apple a particularly strong incentive to branch out into new, high-growth segments. The company this month had to cut its sales guidance for the first time in 16 years because of disappointing iPhone sales.

According to Cheddar, Apple started holding talks with developers about the planned subscription service in the second half of 2018. Two of the sources said the iPhone maker is considering taking on the role of a publisher and actively partner with game creators to help market their titles.

But the tipsters cautioned that the service is in the early stages of development, which means Apple could still abandon the project.

The report comes as other tech giants are also stepping up their presence in the game market. Google LLC and Microsoft Corp. are both building game streaming services designed to let consumers play titles that currently require a desktop computer or a gaming console on less powerful devices such as handsets. 

Photo: Apple