Apple Arcade announced: First premium gaming service on mobile

Apple today announced Apple Arcade, the first premium game service on mobile that will give you access to a collection of brand new premium iOS games for an upfront monthly fee. Apple wants to use this service to boost the popularity of high-quality paid mobile games, which have always struggled to compete with the popularity of free-to-play titles.

Apple Arcade will be available as a category on the App Store and will offer more than 100 expertly-curated games that will be exclusive to the Apple Arcade service. Once the service goes live, new games will be continuously added to the collection. You will have to pay a monthly fee but will also be able to play any Apple Arcade game for as long as you want and on any of your Apple devices, including your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac.

There will be no ads and in-app purchases included with any Apple Arcade titles, so parents can be content that their child wouldn't rack up an astronomical bill with power-ups. Parents can also manage Apple Arcade with the ScreenTime feature and limit for how long their kids game.

All the games will utilize a continuity-like feature that will let you switch devices and continue from where you left off. Aside from that feature, Apple Arcade will be completely offline and will let you download all the games on your device so that you can game while being off the grid. Family Sharing of Apple Arcade for up to six people will also be a go. Most Apple Arcade games will support MFI controllers for that laidback and cozy sofa gaming.

Some of the developers and game studios that will be developing exclusive titles for Apple Arcade are Konami, SEGA, Disney Studios, LEGO, Cartoon Network, Devolver Digital, Gallium, Sumo Digital, Klei Studios (Don't Starve, Oxygen Not Included), Finji (Night in the Woods), Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Giant Squid, Konami, Mistwalker Corporation, Snowman, ustwo games and many, many others.

It became quite clear during the keynote that Apple wants to help game developers create games that would otherwise be swamped within the hordes of free-to-play fluff on the App Store. Definitely, an empowering move that will hopefully give us exceptional and well-made games made exclusively for mobile. Definitely an A+ selection of content creators, which are more than capable of bringing the next Monument Valley to your iPhone and iPad.

Pricing and Availability

Apple Arcade will arrive later this year in more than 150 countries around the world. With Apple wanting to compete with Google Stadia, we won't be surprised if Apple prices Apple Arcade similar to their Apple News+ subscription service.