Wesley Hilliard
Apple Arcade added 35 new games to its lineup on Friday with a mix of new exclusives and classic titles.
Apple Arcade was announced two years ago and has had little fanfare or major hits. The subscription service launched with the promise of over 100 ad-free games, but never quite delivered a AAA experience.
Until Friday, Apple's approach to Arcade has been similar to Apple TV+ — quality experiences that are exclusive to Apple. That rule has been broken as classic games have been brought to the service without ads.
Along with the new content comes new categories: Timeless classics and App Store Greats. The Timeless classics involve classic board games like checkers or chess while App Store Greats include Monument Valley or Mini Metro. Both categories consist of games that already existed on the App Store denoted by a plus to show there are no ads.
New exclusives, remastered games, or Apple Arcade specific versions of games are all considered "Apple Arcade Originals."
New original titles launched on Apple Arcade:
- Fantasian
- Wonderbox: The Adventure Maker
- World of Demons
- NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition
- Clap Hanz Golf
- The Oregon Trail
- Star Trek: Legends
- Simon's Cat - Story Time
- Cut the Rope Remastered
- SongPop Party
- Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat
Classic titles available now without ads:
- Tiny Crossword+
- Threes!+
- The Room Two+
- Sudoku Simple+
- Spell Tower+
- Solitaire by MobilityWare+
- Reigns+
- Really Bad Chess+
- Monument Valley+
- Mini Metro+
- Mahjong Titan+
- Good Sudoku+
- Fruit Ninja Classic+
- Flipflop Solitaire+
- Don't Starve: Pocket Edition+
- Chess - Play & Learn+
- Checkers Royal+
- Chameleon Run+
- Blek+
- Badland+
- Backgammon+
Upcoming titles include:
- Frenzic: Overtime
- Legends of Kingdom Rush
- Leo's Fortune+
Apple Arcade is available for $4.99 per month or in every tier of Apple One. Games are available on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac with touch and controller support.
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Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
8 Comments
Personally, we found good value in Apple Arcade. I still think Apple Arcade is a success. Several reasons, as part of the bundles, people can enjoy different games without thinking if the cost is worth it. Two people can enjoy games will out all the ads. Three, developers can try new things, which may not be commercially viable otherwise. Four, there is really good titles on here, which people can spend hours on. Five, these are games that are not just on the iPhone or iPad, but also on the Mac and Apple TV. Many of these games have ASi native code. Now Apple has managed to add even more titles.
Shame they haven’t produced an Apple Arcade+ with AAA titles but perhaps that could showcase new silicon (ATV/iPad/Mac). Perhaps games could require ‘standard’ (for compatibility) and ‘extreme’ (for showcasing) graphics profiles.
Apple Arcade is terrible for developer earnings. Being an industry professional, knowing from very successful developers, they are all really disappointed in the Apple Arcade earnings and they’re unhappy with the level of transparency Apple provides.
Similarly, invest in a stronger Mac gaming ecosystem. Arcade on macOS is a joke, and the overall offerings on either their App Store or through third party stores is disappointing.
What exactly are developers expecting from a service that is $4.99 per month, per person, spread over so many games? For those using the bundle, the amount going to the Arcade would be even less.
Looks like only Fantasian may be a AAA title. Maybe.
I don’t like the classics being added. Even though games like Leo’s Fortune and Cut the Rope(one of my favorite games of all time) are good, I prefer Apple Arcade to be like TV+, a bundle of Apple exclusives you can’t find elsewhere. Maybe this was a desperate move due to low subs?
Apple wants to support as many devices as possible and that strategy backfires. Apple needs to do BOTH. Have simple games like Chess, pretty much all games currently being offered now that I think of it and high end exclusives for iPhone 12, new iPad Pro, M1 Macs and Apple TV 5. Otherwise we’ll never see the caliber of games we see on Xbox etc.
i repeat this often so I apologize but... Switch is no where near as powerful as current Apple devices but look what it puts out in comparison:
https://youtu.be/NoILEalxniA