Apple’s big media event on Monday was chock-full-of news, not the least of which was Apple’s announcement of their new Apple Arcade game subscription service. The new service will feature over 100 new and exclusive games from renowned creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong, Will Wright and dozens more.
The App Store is the world’s most successful and vibrant gaming platform with nearly 300,000 free and paid games. Free games, supported by advertising or in-app purchases, are enjoyed by hundreds of millions of players around the world. Paid games are often critically acclaimed and beloved by the people who play them, but competing with free is hard, so even the best of these games have only reached a smaller audience. With the simplicity of a single subscription, Apple Arcade will bring games like these to the App Store’s more than 1 billion gaming customers. Apple Arcade is the perfect complement to the already enormously popular catalog of free games on the App Store, making iOS the premier gaming platform for players of all ages.
Apple Arcade will provide access to any game in its hand-picked collection, providing an all-you-can-play, no ads, no ad tracking, no in-app purchases experience. Apple says Apple Arcade will respect user privacy.
Apple is not only handpicking the games in the new service, they are sharing development costs and working closely with the game creators. Games will be available from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games and dozens more developers.
“The App Store is the world’s biggest and most successful game platform. Now we are going to take games even further with Apple Arcade, the first game subscription service for mobile, desktop and the living room,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We are working with some of the most innovative game developers in the world to create over 100 new and exclusive games to play across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. Apple Arcade games will be great for families, respect user privacy and will not have ads or require any additional purchases. We think players of all ages are going to love Apple Arcade.”
Every game will be playable offline, and many of the games will offer game controller support. Apple Arcade games will be playable across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV devices, allowing players to pick up where they left off in a game, even on another device. New games will be added to the service on a regular basis.
Apple Arcade will launch in the fall in more than 150 countries. The service will have its own tab in the App Store across iOS, macOS and tvOS devices. Developers interested in being considered for the service should visit developer.apple.com/apple-arcade.
