Apple Arcade

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Apple Arcade
DeveloperApple
TypeVideo game subscription service
Launch dateSeptember 19, 2019; 4 years ago (2019-09-19)
Platform(s)iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
Operating system(s)iOS 13 or later, iPadOS 13 or later, macOS Catalina or later, tvOS 13 or later, VisionOS
StatusActive
Pricing modelUS$6.99 per month or US$49.99 annually
WebsiteApple Arcade

Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, VisionOS, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later.[1][2] The service launched on September 19, 2019.[3]

It offers experiences that exclude practices such as in-app purchases and advertisements. Some of the games are produced by Apple.

Features[edit]

All games available on the service are free of advertisements, in-app purchases, data tracking processes, and always-on DRM, meaning games can be played offline and without interruptions.[2] Subscribers can share access with up to five others through family sharing and the service can also be purchased through the Apple One bundle. Both standalone subscriptions and the Apple One bundle provide a free one-month trial and can be cancelled at any time.

Games on the service feature integration with Game Center and iCloud, allowing games to implement social features such as achievements and leaderboards, and to carry data between devices when linked to the same iCloud account. In addition to Apple's own products, many games are compatible with third-party controllers such as the DualShock 4, DualSense and Xbox Wireless Controller,[1] with support for Joy-Con and the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller added with the release of iOS 16.[4] By extension, controllers modeled after classic Nintendo and Sega gamepads for use with Nintendo Switch Online are also supported with iOS 16.[5]

History[edit]

Apple Arcade was announced in March 2019 at an Apple Event showcasing their various upcoming services. It launched in September 2019 with 71 games, with Apple stating that the number would grow to over 100 by 2020.[6] The apps support a minimum of 14 languages and can be accessed in over 150 countries.[6] Launch titles included Sneaky Sasquatch, What the Golf, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Rayman Mini, Exit the Gungeon, and Lego Brawls.[7]

Noted publishers and developers that have partnered with Apple to create Arcade games include Capcom, Sega, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Konami, and Annapurna Interactive.[3] Developers cannot release their Apple Arcade games on other mobile platforms due to exclusivity agreements, but are allowed to offer their games on console or PC. Apple does not share game performance metrics with developers, only revealing whether the game has been accepted onto the Apple Arcade platform.[8]

There are several categories within the platform that group together similar games based on their premise, genre, level of difficulty and more. Some categories include "adventure", "puzzle", and "education".[2] There is also a category called "daily play suggestions", which offers a curated selection of games based on the consumer's download and gameplay history.[2]

In June 2020, Bloomberg reported that Apple ended its contract with some future Arcade titles and shifted its strategy to seek games with stronger engagement to retain subscribers. It was further noted that Apple invited former Arcade partners to return and develop titles that would fit Apple's new strategy.[9]

On April 2, 2021, Apple released a number of new games and announced that it would be bringing "Timeless Classics" and "App Store Greats" to the service. These are versions of pre-existing popular games already available on the App Store with in-app purchases and ads removed, denoted by a "+" at the end of the application name. Notable games added to the service include Fruit Ninja Classic+, Monument Valley+, and Threes!+.[10][11] Unlike titles developed exclusively for Apple Arcade, these games are only available for iOS and iPadOS devices.

As part of the reboot of the service, Apple cancelled an unknown number of games that were in development, preferring to focus on family-friendly games attached to existing IP.[12]

On May 31, 2022, creator of the classic shoot 'em up Space Harrier Yu Suzuki announced an original arcade style rail shooting game Air Twister exclusively for Apple Arcade.[13] In September 2022, Horizon Chase 2, the sequel of the award-winning retro racing game Horizon Chase, was released exclusively on the platform.[14]

Reception[edit]

According to CNET, "Every game platform rises or falls on whether it has games that people actually want to play. The breadth of Apple Arcade's catalog, bolstered by consistent new releases and updates, is impressive. There are a ton of different types of games -- mystery games, family games, puzzle games, nostalgic games and more."[15]

In TechRadar, David Lumb wrote, "The hope is that Arcade games distinguish themselves, and the service as a whole, thanks to Apple assistance written into the platform. When developers sign their games up to be on Arcade, the company pledges an undefined level of financial support to give creators breathing room to make the games they want to make."[16]

Referencing Lifewire, artist and programmer Tyrone Evans Clark told Lifewire, "I feel personally more attracted to the Apple Arcade because they have more of a variety pack of games to choose from," "Nintendo's Switch Game Store has a limited number of games, and they are mostly predominantly Nintendo brands such as anything relating to the characters Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, etc. Apple Arcade, on the other hand, has a little bit of everything for everyone."[17]

Jordan Minor of PC Magazine wrote, "That's why, as someone who believes in mobile gaming's potential, Apple Arcade's launch was so exciting. For $5 per month, Apple gives you access to a fast-growing library of nearly 200 premium games to enjoy on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV with a real controller connected. None of these games compromise their design with garbage F2P mechanics, and that's so refreshing to see in this space."[18]

Revenue[edit]

In 2018, premium games on the App Store generated US$476 million while free-to-play games produced US$21.3 billion in revenue.[8] Also, the number of premium apps available on the App Store fell from 21.6% of total App Store games in 2014 to 9.3% in 2018.[8] Some analysts argue that this is a contributing factor to the development and founding of Apple Arcade, with the economic perspective that consumers will be more incentivized to pay a subscription fee to access a range of premium apps rather than purchasing individual premium games.[19] Others have argued that Apple Arcade is another source of revenue for Apple and enables them to compete with other video-game subscription services like Google Play Pass and Xbox Game Pass.[3]

Apple spent $500 million to launch Apple Arcade. Apple pays app developers an upfront fee to create video-games for the platform and corresponds with some developers in the development process.[8]

List of games[edit]

Name Developer Publisher Date released Systems Notes
Agent Intercept PikPok PikPok September 19, 2019 [20]
Assemble With Care Ustwo Ustwo
ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree Wildboy Studios Wildboy Studios
BattleSky Brigade: Harpooner Battlebrew Productions Battlebrew Productions
Big Time Sports Frosty Pop Frosty Pop
Bleak Sword more8bit Devolver Digital
Card of Darkness Choice Provisions, Zach Gage Zach Gage
Cardpocalypse Gambrinous Versus Evil
Cat Quest II The Gentlebros The Gentlebros
ChuChu Rocket! Universe Hardlight Sega
Cricket Through the Ages Free Lives Devolver Digital
Dead End Job Ant Workshop Headup Games
Dear Reader Local No. 12 Local No. 12
Dodo Peak Moving Pieces Moving Pieces
Don't Bug Me Frosty Pop Frosty Pop
Down in Bermuda Yak & Co Yak & Co
Dread Nautical Zen Studios Zen Studios
EarthNight Cleaversoft Cleaversoft
Exit the Gungeon Dodge Roll, Singlecore Games Devolver Digital
Explottens Playdew Playdew
Fledgeling Heroes Subtle Boom Subtle Boom
Frogger in Toy Town Q-Games Konami
Grindstone Capybara Games Capybara Games
Hexaflip: The Action Puzzler David Marquardt Rogue Games
Hot Lava Klei Entertainment Klei Entertainment
HyperBrawl Tournament Milky Tea Milky Tea
Jenny LeClue - Detectivú Mografi Mografi
King's League II Kurechii Kurechii
Lego Brawls Red Games Co. Lego Games
Lifeslide Dreamteck Block Zero
Mini Motorways Dinosaur Polo Club Dinosaur Polo Club
Murder Mystery Machine Blazing Griffins Blazing Griffins
Mutazione Die Gute Fabrik Die Gute Fabrik
Neo Cab Chance Agency Fellow Travellers
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm Cornfox & Bros. Cornfox & Bros.
Operator 41 Spruce Campbell Shifty Eye
Outlanders Pomelo Games Pomelo Games
Over the Alps Stave Studios Stave Studios
Overland Finji Finji
Painty Mob Flee Punk Devolver Digital
Patterned BorderLeap BorderLeap
Possessions. Lucid Labs Noodlecake
Projection: First Light Shadowplay Studios Blowfish Studios
Punch Planet Sector-K Games Block Zero
Rayman Mini Ubisoft Montpellier Ubisoft
Red Reign Ninja Kiwi Ninja Kiwi
Sayonara Wild Hearts Simogo Annapurna Interactive
Shantae and the Seven Sirens WayForward WayForward
Shinsekai: Into the Depths Capcom Capcom
Skate City Agens Games Snowman
Sneaky Sasquatch RAC7 RAC7
Sonic Racing Hardlight Sega
Spaceland Tortuga Games Tortuga Games
Speed Demons Radiangames Radiangames
Spek. RAC7 RAC7
Spelldrifter Free Range Games Free Range Games
Spidersaurs WayForward WayForward
Stellar Commanders Blindflug Blindflug
Stranded Sails Shifty Eye Shifty Eye
Super Impossible Road Wonderful Lasers Rogue Games
Tangle Tower SFB Games SFB Games
The Enchanted World AI Interactive Noodlecake
The Get Out Kids Frosty Pop Frosty Pop
The Pinball Wizard Frosty Pop Frosty Pop
tint. Lykke Studios Lyykengard Europe
Towaga: Among Shadows Sunnyside Games Noodlecake
Various Daylife DokiDoki Grooveworks Square Enix
Way of the Turtle Illusion Labs Illusion Labs
What the Golf? Triband The Label
Where Cards Fall The Game Band Snowman
Word Laces Minimega Minimega

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Biggs, Tim (September 20, 2019). "Apple Arcade: how to jump in and start playing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Needleman, Sarah E. (September 10, 2019). "Apple Wants Gamers to Hit 'Subscribe' With Apple Arcade". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Conway, Steven (September 17, 2019). "Apple and Google to offer frictionless gaming, if your NBN plan can handle it". Swinburne University of Technology. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Warren, Tom (June 7, 2022). "iOS 16 supports Nintendo's Switch Pro and Joy-Con controllers". The Verge. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  5. ^ Voorhees, John (October 26, 2022). "Apple Adds Nintendo Online Classic Controller Support to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV". MacStories. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Knowlton, Thomas (2020). "Apple arcade gives educators choices: The subscription service allows many game options for a relatively low price". School Library Journal. 60 (3): 30.
  7. ^ Khan, Imran (September 19, 2019). "A Comprehensive List Of Apple Arcade Launch Games". IGN. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d Guadiana, Gerardo (2020). A Netflix experience : reimagining the direct-to-consumer platform (Thesis thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/126900.
  9. ^ Gurman, Mark; Schreier, Jason (June 30, 2020). "Apple Cancels Some Arcade Games in Strategy Shift To Keep Subscribers". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "Apple Arcade launches its biggest expansion yet, growing its award-winning catalog to more than 180 games" (Press release). Cupertino, California: Apple Newsroom. April 2, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Hector, Hamish; Lumb, David (July 1, 2021). "Huge Apple Arcade update: classic games and all-new must-plays join the service". TechRadar. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  12. ^ Long, Neil (February 26, 2024). "Inside Apple Arcade: axed games, declining payouts, disillusioned studios – and an uncertain future". Mobilegamer.biz. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  13. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (May 31, 2022). "Shenmue Creator Announces Air Twister For Apple Arcade". GameSpot. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Romano, Sal (August 30, 2022). "Horizon Chase 2 announced for consoles, PC, and Apple Arcade". Gematsu. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  15. ^ "Apple Arcade: Still the Best Mobile Game Subscription". CNET. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Lumb, David (December 16, 2019). "Apple Arcade review". TechRadar. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Sorrel, Charlie (April 6, 2021). "What Is Apple Arcade Trying To Be?". Lifewire. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  18. ^ "The 29 Best Apple Arcade Games for 2023". PCMAG. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Carroni, Elias; Madio, Leonardo; Shekhar, Shiva (2018). "Superstars in Two-Sided Markets: Exclusives or Not?" (PDF). SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3243777. ISSN 1556-5068. S2CID 169180632.
  20. ^ Khan, Imran (September 19, 2019). "A Comprehensive List Of Apple Arcade Launch Games". IGN. Retrieved May 5, 2024.

External links[edit]

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