What Is Apple Arcade?
Apple Arcade is a game subscription service accessible on Apple devices. For a single monthly subscription fee, players have unlimited access to a selection of unique games available exclusively via Apple Arcade. Apple is collaborating with game developers and publishers to bring excellent games from various genres and game types to the existing popular and powerful iPhone and iPad gaming media and the Mac and other platforms for the service.
What Games Are Available on Apple Arcade?
It now has over 180 games, with more being added constantly. Among the titles offered are:
- The ChuChu Rocket! Sega’s Universe is a puzzle game.
- Fantasian is a popular role-playing game.
- Frogger in Toy Town is a new Frogger game by Konami.
- Basketball NBA 2K21 Arcade game Edition.
- Oregon Trail is a modernized version of the classic historical adventure game.
- Bandai’s PAC MAN PARTY ROYALE is an arcade-style Pac Man game.
- Ubisoft’s Rayman Mini is a micro-sized running game.
- Snowman’s skateboarding game Skate City.
- Sonic Racing is a Sega racing game featuring Sonic the Hedgehog.
- Rogue Games’ Super Impossible Road is a futuristic racing game.
- Square Enix’s RPG Various Daylife.
How Often Are New Games Added to Apple Arcade?
Weekly, new games are added to It. Apple Arcade’s games are a combination of exclusives made expressly for the service (not accessible on other streaming services or in other shops) and remastered versions of current games. Those games have been modified expressly for Apple Arcade play, while versions are accessible elsewhere.
What Devices Work With Apple Arcade?
It is compatible with the following devices:
- iPhone and iPod touch models running iOS 13.
- iPads running iPadOS 13.
- Apple TV models running tvOS 13.
- Macs running macOS Catalina (version 10.15).
One of the most great features of It is the ability to continue games across devices. If you start playing a game on your iPhone on the way home, you can stop and pick up where you left off on your Apple TV, iPad, or Mac when you get home.
You may also download and play games without being connected to the internet.
It is compatible with the Screen Time and Restrictions features, which enable parents to manage their children’s access to games and other features.
Do Apple Arcade Games Support Game Controllers?
Some Apple Arcade games do support game controllers, but not all. All games have onscreen controls and compatibility with the Apple TV Siri Remote as a controller. Games with a controller symbol on the product page support third-party controllers. PlayStation Dual Shock 4 controllers, Xbox Series S or X, Xbox Wireless Controllers for Xbox One, and iPhone and iPad controllers are all supported.
Check out How to Connect a Controller to an iPad for a more in-depth look at utilizing game controllers with the iPad. We have similar advice for controllers and iPhones.
What Does Cost?
It is free for 30 days, after which customers cancel or subscribe for $4.99 monthly.
For that amount, up to six people in a single Family Sharing group may use the service without interruptions. Apple is unlikely to accept bigger groups because the subscription is related to Family Sharing groups, which are restricted to six people.
All features are included in all Apple Arcade games, and no in-app payments are required to add features or unlock choices and levels.
How Do You Subscribe?
If your device keeps Apple Arcade app, it will display as a new tab in the App Store app. To join up for it, tap the tab and follow the onscreen instructions. The subscription fee will be charged to the credit or debit card you keep on file with your Apple ID.
Top Best Apple Arcade Games
Apple switched its approach last year. When Apple Arcade originally started, it concentrated on exclusive games. You will now discover some games that are also available for a cost on the App Store (including my favorite tower defence game) as well as other games that feature advertisements or in-app purchases. A + is always added to the name of an Apple Arcade app version of a game. Apple constantly adds new games, but it also sometimes removes games. Here are some of the top best Apple Arcade games available right now:
- A Monster’s Expedition
- Agent Intercept
- Air Twister
- Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
- All of You
- Alto’s Adventure: The Spirit of the Mountain
- Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City
- Amazing Bomberman
- Angry Birds Reloaded
- Asphalt 8: Airborne+
- Assemble With Care
- Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree
- Backgammon+
- Badland party
- Badland+
- Baldo
- Ballistic Baseball
- Battleheart Legacy+
- Beyond a Steel Sky
- Beyond Blue
- Big Time Sports
- Bleak Sword
- Blek+
- Bloons TD 6+
- Bridge Constructor+
- Card of Darkness
- Castle Crumble
- Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls
- Chameleon Run+
- Charrua Soccer
- Chess – Play & Learn+
- Chess Universe+
- Cityscapes: Sim Builder
- Clad Hanz Golf
- Clue: The Classic Mystery Game+
- Construction Simulator 2+
- Cooking Mama: Cuisine!
- Cozy Grove
- Crashlands+
- Crayola Create and Play+
- Creaks
- Cricket Through the Ages
- Crossy Road Castle
- Crossy Road+
- Cut the Rope Remastered
- Dandara: Trials of Fear+
- Dead Cells+
- Dear Reader
- Decoherence
- Detonation Racing
- Discolored
- Disney Coloring World+
- Disney Getaway Blast+
- Disney Spellstruck
- Dodo Peak
- DoDonPachi Resurrection HD+
- Don’t Bug Me!
- Don’t Starve: Pocket Edition+
- Doodle God Universe
- Dr Who: An Unlikely Heist
- Episode XOXO
- Exit the Gungeon
- Fallen Knight
- Fantasian
- Farm It!
- Farming Simulator 20+
- Farmside
- Fledgling Heroes
- FlipFlop Solitaire+
- Football Manager 2023 Touch
- Frenzic: Overtime
- Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins
- Frogger in Toy Town
- Fruits Ninja Classic+
- Galaga Wars+
- Game Dev Story+
- Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows
- Garden Tails: Match and Grow
- Gear.Club Stradale
- Getting Over It+
- Gibbon: Beyond the Trees
- Gin Rummy Classic+
- Goat Simulator+
- Good Sudoko+
- Grand Mountain Adventure+
- Grindstone
- Gris+
- Guildings
- Hanx101 Trivia
- Hearts: Card Game+
- Heroish
- Hexaflip: The Action Puzzler
- Hidden Folks+
- Hill Climb Racing+
- Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game
- Hogwash
- Horizon Chase 2
- Hot Lava
- Human Fall Flat+
- HyperBrawl Tournament
- Illustrated
- Inks+
- Inmost
- Iron Marines+
- JellyCar Worlds
- Jetpack Joyride+
- Jetpack Joyride 2
- Jigsaw Puzzle by MobilityWare+
- Jumper Jon
- Kimono Cats
- Kings League II
- Kingdom Rush Frontiers TD+
- Kingdom Rush Vengeance TD+
- Kingdom Two Crowns+
- Layton’s Mystery Journey+
- Legends of Kingdom Rush
- Lego Brawls
- Lego Builder’s Journey
- Lego Star Wars Battles
- Lego Star Wars: Castaways
- Leo’s Fortune+
- Lifelike
- Lifeline+
- Limbo+
- Little Orpheus
- Love You to Bits+
- Lumen
- Majong Titan+
- Manifold Garden
- Marble It Up: Mayhem
- Marble Knights
- MasterChef: Let’s Cook
- Mind Symphony
- Mini Metro+
- Mini Motorways
- Monomals
- Monter Hunter Stories+
- Monument Valley+
- Monument Valley 2+
- Moonshot – A Journey Home
- Murder Mystery Machine
- Mutazione
- My Bowling 3D+
- My Little Pony: Mane Merge
- My Talking Tom+
- My Town Home – Family Games+
- NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition
- NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition
- NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition
- Necrobarista
- Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector+
- Neo Cab
- Next Stop Nowhere
- Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis
- Nightmare Farm
- Nuts – A Surveillance Mystery
- Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon
- Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch+
- Oddmar+
- Old Man’s Journey+
- Operaror 41
- Osmos+
- Outlanders
- Overland
- Pac-Man Party Royale
- Painty Mob
- Patterned
- Pilgrims
- Pocket Build+
- Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!
- Populus Run
- Possessions
- PPKP+
- Pro Darts 2022+
- Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+
- Prune+
- Rayman Mini
- Really Bad Chess+
- Red Reign
- Redout: Space Assault
- Reigns+
- Reigns: Beyond
- Riptide GP: Renegade+
- Samorost 3+
- Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Shadow Blade+
- Shantae and the Seven Sirens
- Shinsekai: Into the Depths
- ShockRods
- Shovel Knight Dig
- Simon’s Cat – Story Time
- Skate City
- Slash Quest!
- Snake.io+
- Sneaky Sasquatch
- Sociable Soccer
- Solitaire by MobilityWare+
- Solitaire Stories
- SongPop Party
- Sonic Dash+
- Sonic Racing
- South of the Circle
- Sping
- Spaceland
- Spades: Card Game+
- Speed Demons
- Spek
- SpellTower+
- Spider Solitaire: Card Game+
- Spire Blast
- Splitter Critters+
- SpongeBob SolitairePants
- SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit
- Spyder
- Squiggle Drop
- Star Fetched
- Star Trek: Legends
- Stela
- Stellar Commanders
- Steven Universe: Unleash the Light
- Stitch
- Stranded Sails
- Subway Surfers Tag
- Sudoku by MobilityWare+
- Summon Quest
- Super Impossible Road
- Super Leap Day
- Super Mega Mini Party
- Super Stickman Golf 3+
- Survival Z
- Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat
- Takeshi and Hiroshi
- Temple Run+
- Temple Run: Puzzle Adventure
- Tetris Beat
- The Bradwell Conspiracy
- The Collage Atlas
- The Enchanted World
- The Gardens Between+
- The Get Out Kids
- The Last Campfire
- The Lullaby of Life
- The Mosaic
- The Oregon Trail
- The Pathless
- The Pinball Wizard
- The Room Two+
- The Survivalists
- The_Otherside
- Things That Go Bump
- Threes!+
- Thumper: Pocket Edition+
- Time Locker+
- Tint
- Tiny Crossword+
- Tiny Wings+
- TMNT Splintered Fate+
- Transformers: Tactical Arena
- UFO on Tape: First Contact
- Very Little Nightmares+
- Warp Drive
- Warped Kart Racers
- Way of the Turtle
- What The Car?
- What The Golf?
- Where Cards Fall
- Wonderbox: The Adventure Maker
- Word Laces
- World of Demons
- World’s End Club
- Wurdweb
- Wylde Flowers
- Yaga The Roleplaying Folktale
- Zen Pinball Party
- Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes
- Zookeeper World
- Assemble With Care
- Bloons TD 6+
- Cat Quest II
- ChuChu Rocket! Universe
- Fantasian
- Goat Simulator+
- Manifold Garden
- Mini Motorways
- Neo Cab
- Oceanhorn 2
- Pilgrims
- Prune+
- Reigns+
- Samorost 3+
- Sayonara Wild Hearts
- Skate City
- Sneaky Sasquatch
- The Pathless
- What the Golf?
- Where Cards Fall
When Did Apple Arcade Become Available?
On the following dates, it became accessible in over 150 countries and regions:
- On iPhone and iPod touch: Sept. 19, 2019.
- On iPad and Apple TV: Sept. 30, 2019.
- On Mac: Oct. 2019.
In conclusion
If you look at any of the top game charts on the App Store, you’ll see that virtually all of them are made up of free-to-play games with in-app purchases. To get the most out of these games, you either need lots of money or lots of patience. Apple Arcade seems like the antidote.
Arcade gives access to a vast library of full, high-quality games for an unbelievably low $5 per month (with a free trial available) with no timers or costly add-ons to get in the way of your pleasure. The service’s 70-plus game library provides a wide range of fantastic experiences, from strange indie adventures and challenging puzzlers to console-style platformers and quick-fix racing games. And there’s more on the way.
We’re still waiting to see how Arcade performs on Apple TV and Mac, and I’m curious how many people hooked to Clash of Clans and Fortnite would be ready to pay a premium to obtain meatier games. It’s also worth noting that you can’t purchase any game in Arcade a la carte, so even if you’re just interested in one or two games, you’ll have to subscribe. And, although Apple promises a library of more than 100 games by the autumn, there’s no knowing when or if games may be pulled from the service, just like movies and TV shows are often ripped from Netflix.
If you don’t mind living the subscription life, Apple Arcade’s massive library of high-quality games seems like an unbelievable deal for a few dollars a month. Much like Xbox Game Pass has shook up the status quo on Xbox and PC, Apple Arcade might have a significant influence on the way we play mobile games.