What Is Apple Arcade? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Apple

Apple Arcade is a new gaming subscription service that will eventually provide access to over 100 games for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TV devices. It costs $4.99 per month for an entire family, and your first month is free.

The service is launching initially on iPhone, with iPad, Mac and Apple TV versions following soon after. Here’s what you need to know about the new service.

What is Apple Arcade?

Apple Arcade is a monthly subscription that costs $4.99, with a free trial month to get you started. The service includes exclusive games only available via Apple Arcade, as well as third party titles that are available for purchase on other platforms. You cannot separately purchase games made available through Apple Arcade on the App Store.

Apple says it will add new games to the service monthly, though like any subscription service you should also expect older games to disappear (and maybe pop up for sale on the App Store instead). There are no adverts, no limitations on play, and you don’t need an internet connection to play games downloaded through Apple Arcade.

The service is not a game streaming service like PlayStation Now or Google Stadia. When you sign up for Arcade, you can download as many games as you can fit on your device and run them natively. It’s more comparable to a service like Netflix.

Is Apple Arcade Good Value?

Whether or not Apple Arcade represents good value depends entirely on your App Store spending habits. If you spend more than about $5 on games per month, then you may be able to justify the $60 per year you’ll be spending on an Arcade subscription. It’s also important to note that none of the games on Apple Arcade will include microtransactions or free-to-play economies. For $5, you get everything with no extra ads or fees.

You can even dip in and out of Apple Arcade when you have time. If you’ve got some long haul flights coming up then $5 seems like a bargain compared to the cost of a full-priced Nintendo Switch game—or anything else you might find in an airport departure lounge.

One area where Apple Arcade represents an excellent value is for users of Family Sharing. A single Apple Arcade subscription at $4.99 per month can be shared between a whole household provided you have set up Family Sharing and purchased a subscription.