An idle RPG you can leave on the TV.
Most idle games never bother shipping to Apple TV — the install base is small and the engineering investment is real. Tideward bothered. The same SwiftUI codebase that ships on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch produces a true native tvOS build, with Siri Remote and MFi controller support, designed for ambient living-room play.
The Apple TV games landscape (it's quiet here)
tvOS launched in 2015 with a games-as-equal-citizen pitch. A decade later, the games section of the tvOS App Store is mostly arcade-style titles and family-friendly puzzles — the genres that work well with the Siri Remote\'s limited input. Long-form games, including most RPGs, never made the jump.
Idle games specifically are nearly absent. The big ones — Melvor Idle, AdVenture Capitalist, Idle Slayer, AdVenture Communist — all skip tvOS. The reasoning is the same as Apple Watch: small install base, real engineering cost, no obvious revenue lift. For an ad-supported F2P idle game, that math doesn\'t work.
For a solo project building one Universal app across Apple\'s entire lineup, the math is different. The same SwiftUI codebase that produces the iPhone app builds for tvOS with platform-specific layout adaptations. The Apple TV build is a real native app, not a port — it follows tvOS Human Interface Guidelines, integrates with the Siri Remote and MFi controllers, and presents the game in a way that fits the living-room context.
Why the living room is actually the right place for an idle game
Think about how you use the TV in the evening. You probably have something on — a show, a film, a sport. You\'re not giving it your full attention; you\'re pottering around, eating dinner, having a conversation, half-watching. This is exactly the engagement profile an idle game is designed for.
Tideward on the Apple TV slots into that profile. Pull up the game in the corner of your day. Set Forging or Quarry running. Glance over from time to time — the trade panel is sized for couch viewing, the XP bar is readable from across the room. Switch trades when you feel like it. Close it when you go to bed. Pick up where you left off on your iPhone the next morning, with a full offline-progression bank waiting for you.
Siri Remote and game controller support, both done right
Two input paths get equal first-class treatment:
- Siri Remote. Directional pad navigates the trade list, click center selects, back returns to previous screen. Tap-anywhere on the touch surface for direct select. Volume buttons reserved for system. The menu button takes you to the Tideward home screen.
- MFi game controllers. Full support for PS5 DualSense, Xbox Wireless Controller, and Apple\'s Game Controller standard. D-pad navigates, A selects, B goes back. Triggers reserved for combat-relevant actions in active fights.
The UI is sized for TV-viewing distance (10 feet from the screen) — menus, item cards, and combat readouts are all readable without leaning forward. Text size scales with the system\'s Dynamic Type setting on the Apple TV, the same way it does on iPhone.
What stays consistent with the iPhone version
The Apple TV build doesn\'t ask you to learn a different game. Same 23 trades, same combat math, same offline progression cap, same item drops, same Almanac. CloudKit sync means your character is the same character — start a Forging session on iPhone in the morning, finish it on the Apple TV in the evening, no friction.
The privacy posture is identical too. Zero third-party SDKs on Apple TV just like everywhere else. No analytics, no crash reporters, no advertising IDs. Apple TV\'s relatively private user-data surface — no microphone-by-default, no constant location, no biometrics — gets respected by Tideward\'s zero-data-collection architecture.
One purchase, every device
Tideward launches as a single Universal app in February 2027. One App Store purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch. The Apple TV version isn\'t a paid upgrade — it\'s part of the package, on day one.
FAQ — Tideward on Apple TV
Are there any real idle games for Apple TV?
Almost none. The tvOS App Store has a small games section, mostly arcade titles and family-friendly games optimized for the Siri Remote. Idle games are nearly absent — Melvor Idle, AdVenture Capitalist, and Idle Slayer have no tvOS builds. Tideward is one of the few that ships a real native tvOS app, sharing its SwiftUI codebase with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch.
How do you play an idle RPG on a TV?
The Apple TV build is designed for the "ambient screen" use case — think of it like a fish tank you can interact with. Put Tideward on your living room TV in the evening, navigate the trade selector with the Siri Remote, set a Forging session running, and let it tick while you do something else in the room. The Apple TV is the rare device where idle gameplay genuinely benefits from being watched out of the corner of your eye.
Does the Apple TV version use the Siri Remote?
Yes — full Siri Remote support, including the directional pad for navigation, the click center button for selection, and the back button for screen-back. There's also a swipe-to-scroll mode for the trade list. The UI is sized for TV viewing distance (10 feet), so menus and item cards are large and readable from a couch.
Can I use a game controller?
Yes. tvOS has built-in support for MFi (Made for iPhone) controllers including PS5, Xbox, and Apple's Game Controller standard. Tideward exposes the same navigation actions to controllers as it does to the Siri Remote — no special button layout to learn.
Does the Apple TV save my progress?
Yes, via CloudKit. Sign in with the same Apple ID on your Apple TV as on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and your character syncs across all of them automatically. No accounts to create, no servers of mine, no third-party sync service. Your data stays in your private iCloud container.