All You want to know about Apple Arcade Extravaganza

Apple Arcade is a brand new gaming mania for all the Mac and iOS players who have so far been left out of the gaming fun with the likes of Xbox Game Pass, EA Access, and PlayStation. Apple Arcade was first announced in March with Apple promising that it will let video game fans to play 100+ new and exclusive games across the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV. Before we dive into what Apple Arcade is, it’s important to know what it isn’t.

What Apple Arcade isn’t?

Unlike Project xCloud or Google Stadia, which I will be covering next, Apple Arcade is not a game-streaming service. What it means, in a nutshell, is that once you have downloaded a game, you can play it without even a stable Internet connection. The only exceptions are a few game titles that you wish to play on the Apple TV.

What Apple Arcade is?

Now, coming back to what Apple Arcade is, it’s a video game subscription service that costs $4.99 a month to unravel and enjoy a wide range of exciting video games, including The Enchanted World, Where Cards Fall and Shinsekai: Into the Depths. The beauty of Apple Arcade is that it comes Ads free and without in-app purchases (IAPs). You don’t even have to pay a penny for the updates and content that Apple said the players will receive automatically.

Besides, players can share the subscription with up to five other people, so you can also let your family members and friends to have the gaming fun under just one subscription. For some of the games, you can also pair PlayStation 4 Dual or Xbox One S controller with your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.

Exclusive to iPhone users

None of the Apple Arcade games will be available on Google Play Store, and the company is reportedly shelling out more than $500 million just to ensure the exclusivity of Apple Arcade games. However, after the expiration of time exclusivity period of a particular game, developers can bring it to consoles or PCs as well.

Apart from games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Beneath a Steel Sky and Where Cards Fall, Apple Arcade will also feature games from established game studious, including Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Annapurna Interactive, Finji, Giant Squid, and many more. The genre ranges from puzzlers to adventure, role-playing, frantic arcade games, 5-minute time-wasters to fantasy games.

Also read iOS game developed and published by our iPhone game development company in India.

Availability and Features

Apple Arcade is the first-of-its-kind game subscription service and is reported to be available in more than 150 countries to support on iOS, Mac, and Apple TV. Apple Arcade also comes with added parental controls for parents to decide what type of content is right for their children. You can set a screen exposure time as well after which the games downloaded from Arcade will not be accessible to children.

Although Apple Arcade doesn’t have the full library of games as of now, it’s worth trying with a one-month free trial. If you like the service you can start paying for the subscription after the free trial gets over or simply quit.

Looking Ahead

It would be too early to say if Apple Arcade will be a big success or an attempt in vain. But as we know how Apple can change the way iPhone game developers build game apps and users pay to use them, the latest move is highly likely to have a big impact on the video game industry. Primarily because of the long-running trends of Ads and IAPs that game app developers have relied on for years to rake in billions of dollars. Apple itself charged 30% of all IAPs.

Apple Arcade will certainly be praised by those who don’t like to watch ads while playing video games on their devices and pay for IAPs every now and then. A few months from now will clear the picture about how Apple Arcade will do going forward. Till then, you can try a free trial of Apple Arcade yourself to see if it’s any worth your time and money.