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Two-minute review
It’s been almost seven years since Apple Arcade launched, and we’ve seen the service grow from one that focuses predominantly on experimental indie games to something more diverse and broadly appealing. Big exclusive releases like Hello Kitty Island Adventure and Fantasian successfully put it on the map and helped justify the subscription cost, but where exactly does Apple Arcade sit now that many of its best titles have come to traditional console and PC platforms?
Ultimate Guide to Apple Arcade
This article is part of our Ultimate Guide to Apple Arcade: the definitive guide to everything that you need to know about the gaming service. Be sure to browse the full series here.
Although I’ve dabbled with it on and off over the years (mainly through the various free trials available to Apple users), I put my head down and spent the last week truly immersing myself in the service with a shiny new iPhone 17 Pro Max to find out. I’ve now played all 279 games (yes, every single one — even those designed for literal toddlers like Thomas & Friends: Let’s Roll+ or My Little Pony: Mane Merge. The latter is surprisingly good, to be fair).
First and foremost, the thing I’ve enjoyed the most about my time with the service has been just how seamless it all is. Finding something to play is as easy as opening up the dedicated Arcade tab in the App Store or the dedicated Arcade app and having a quick scroll. Everything included with the service is neatly categorized into key genres like strategy, sports, card, puzzle, and so on, with new and popular games prominently displayed in case anything catches your eye.
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Once you’ve chosen a game and got it installed, you simply boot it up, and you can get right to playing with no annoying sign-in screens, additional downloads, or intrusive pop-up ads. It all just works, which is the kind of premium experience you would expect from the Apple brand. You can even access everything offline and, as someone who has loaded my phone up with games before a 14-hour flight only to discover with horror that they all require internet account linking or substantial content downloads, it’s hard to overstate how valuable that can be.
The actual game library is pretty compelling too. The fact that many once-flagship games have come to consoles and PC does definitely diminish the appeal slightly if you have access to other platforms, but it’s still a good offering on the whole. It ranges all the way from full-on console to mobile conversions such as Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 Arcade Edition, MySims Kingdom, and Cult of the Lamb Arcade Edition to high-quality originals like Sonic Dream Team.
Loads of nostalgic mobile titles are also present in enhanced, ad-free form, and I’ve really enjoyed going back to the moreish endless running action of Subway Surfers in Subway Surfers+ and Jetpack Joyride in Jetpack Joyride+ and its exclusive follow-up Jetpack Joyride 2. That’s not to say that everything here is a winner, though. Some of the games, like racer Gear.Club Stradale seem fun at first but offer little depth, while a small chunk of the library are just samey card games (Gin Rummy+, Crazy Eights+, Spades+, Hearts+, etc.) with reused animations, assets, and sound effects that just feel like filler.
Still, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into for the relatively modest monthly price, and it’s well worth checking out if you have a compatible device. If you’re a subscriber to any Apple One plan, you already have access to Apple Arcade, so giving the service a go is a no-brainer.
Price and availability
- Costs $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$9.99 a month
- 12 month $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.99 plan available
- Also part of Apple One
When it originally launched in 2019, Apple Arcade cost just $4.99 / £4.99 / AU$7.99 a month. This has since gone up to $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$9.99, representing a slight $2 / £2 / AU$2 increase. Even with this factored in, the service is still decent value: it currently offers more than 270 games, and if you play just a few of those every few weeks you’ll definitely be getting your money’s worth.
You can save some cash and make it even better value by purchasing a 12-month plan, which is priced at $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.99. Various free trials are also available, with most new Apple devices including a complimentary three-month subscription. If you subscribe to any Apple One plan, access to Apple Arcade is already included.
Features and interface
- Built-in to the App Store
- Also part of the dedicated Games app
- Offers family sharing
For a mobile gaming service, Apple Arcade has a decent set of features. You can access the service through a prominent tab in the App Store, or via the dedicated Games app. You can add friends from your contact list in order to see what they are playing and compare your high scores.
If you want to play together, the likes of Crossy Road Castle offer full online multiplayer while titles such as Mini Motorways or Pac-Man 256+ let you set up competitive score-based challenges with a shared leaderboard in the Games app. These challenges last a set number of days and don’t require everyone to be playing at once, smartly helping you stay connected without the pressure of working out a dedicated play time that works with everyone’s busy schedules.
Unless you’re accessing the service through the Apple One Individual plan, you can share your Apple Arcade subscription with up to six family members at no extra cost, which means you shouldn’t struggle to find people to play with.
As with most Apple services, the entire Apple Arcade interface is simple but effective. The Arcade tab on the App Store is simply laid out with a good number of categories to browse. New or popular additions alongside games with ongoing events are highlighted so you can jump right in. It all looks and feels carefully curated, which is a big plus.
Although I tested the service using an iPhone, Apple Arcade is also available on a wide range of other Apple devices. It’s also compatible with iPad (and I’ve used it in the past on an iPad Mini), Apple TV, Mac, and even Apple Vision Pro.
Of course, game availability, compatibility, and performance can vary between devices, but it’s still good that you can access your games in a wide variety of formats.
The vast majority of titles can be played without a controller, though many still allow you to hook up a compatible gamepad such as the DualSense Wireless Controller, Xbox Wireless Controller, or many of the best mobile controllers if you prefer.
This is definitely the way to go on Apple TV, where the small included remote could otherwise be quite limiting.
(Image credit: Apple)
Game library
- Solely focuses on games
- Some good exclusive titles
- A little bit of filler
The Apple Arcade library is entirely devoted to games, and it includes a good range of them. The absolute highlights for me are the exclusive entries in popular console franchises, like Cooking Mama: Cuisine!, Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat, or Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop. They take key series mechanics and smartly rework them for a touch screen format while sprinkling in a few interesting twists.
Sonic Dream Team is a particularly good example of this, borrowing heavily from other Sonic the Hedgehog titles but introducing a unique dream-world setting and the ability to swap between multiple characters on the fly with their own distinct abilities.
They’re all graphically impressive and run smoothly, at least on recent iPhones. Many of them would hold up right alongside the full console entries, which really helps Apple Arcade feel like its own platform rather than a collection of mobile ports.
That’s not to say that there aren’t many ports available on the service. You can play versions of big hitters like Sid Meier’s Civilization 7, Cult of the Lamb, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Stardew Valley, PowerWash Simulator, Vampire Survivors, Dredge, both MySims and MySims Kingdom, and much more. The selection definitely skews towards older games, however, which is somewhat of a shame.
(Image credit: Sega)
There are also plenty of enhanced mobile classics like Subway Surfers+, Smash Hit+, and Jetpack Joyride+, which all have microtransactions and ads removed. There are also some cool exclusive sequels such as Jetpack Joyride 2 and even an excellent exclusive Angry Birds remake in Angry Birds Reloaded, which is crammed with new content.
More casual gamers have plenty of great experiences to choose from, and the family demographic is similarly well catered to with a number of titles specifically designed for younger children.
My only real complaint with the library is that there is definitely a bit of filler. Do you really need multiple apps for different card games, for example, or two competing Sudoku apps?
The number of great Apple Arcade exclusives that have been ported to console and PC is also unfortunate, namely games such as Fantasian and Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
On one hand, I’m glad that more players will be able to experience them, but on the other, losing exclusives does hurt the value proposition of the service. If you own other platforms and only want to play one or two games, it’s worth checking if they’re now available to buy outright elsewhere.
Should I use Apple Arcade?
Use it if…
Don’t use it if…
How I tested Apple Arcade
- Tested for over a week
- Have previously used the service
- Tested using an iPhone 17 Pro Max
I have used Apple Arcade on multiple occasions over the years, mainly through free trials and an Apple One family plan on my old iPhone 15 Plus and iPad Mini. I made the jump to Android back in 2025, so I lapsed until this week, which I spent rigorously testing all of the available games using an iPhone 17 Pro Max and a 12-month membership provided by Apple for coverage purposes.
I mainly played games using touch controls, but still evaluated the functionality of multiple compatible controllers, including the Xbox Wireless controller and DualSense Wireless Controller in addition to some of the best mobile controllers like the Razer Kishi V3 Pro, Backbone One and Backbone Pro.
First reviewed December 2019
