Apple Arcade price, release date and games: Everything you need to know about Apple’s subscription games service

Back in March, Apple unveiled Apple Arcade, the company’s big new plan to unite premium iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and MacOS games under the cost of one monthly subscription.
 
At the recent September event where the  iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max were revealed, Apple found time to put a bit more meat on the bones, and we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect when the service launches later this month.
 
So, without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about Apple Arcade. 

What is Apple Arcade?

There are nearly one million games on Apple’s iPhone and iPad App Store. Considerably fewer of that number are what you’d call stellar, and an uncomfortable number of them contain microtransactions to make their money.
 
Apple Arcade essentially aims to sort the wheat from the chaff on your behalf. The subscription service will offer “over 100 new and exclusive games” – and the company means exclusive: some titles won’t appear on any other mobile platforms or subscription services, apparently, though it’s not clear if these are timed exclusives or a permanent tie-up.
 
 
The ad-free games will be playable across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac, and saved games will be stored in the cloud, so you can pick up your game where you left off, even if you’ve switched platform. Despite this reliance on the cloud, all will be playable offline.
 
Most importantly, these will all be full games without any microtransactions to tempt you in to spending more than the cost of subscription. 

Apple Arcade: Price

Apple has announced that Arcade will cost £4.99/$4.99 per month when it launches. 

Apple Arcade: Release date

Apple Arcade will launch in more than 150 countries from 19 September 2019.

Apple Arcade: Games

So far, so good, but what games will you be playing?
 
 
 
Well, with Apple promising over 100, we don’t have details on every one, but here are a few that Apple feels sufficiently proud of to promote in the build up to release day.
 
At the recent iPhone 11 event, Apple showed off three titles: Frogger in Toy Town, Shinsekai: Into the Depths and Sayonara Wild Hearts. It was an odd set of titles, but it did show off the relationship Apple is developing with the big hitters of Konami and Capcom.
 
 
Also in the stable: Lego – which is working on Lego Arthouse and Lego Brawls – and Sega, which is not only working on a version of Sonic Racing, but is reviving beloved Dreamcast classic and early online multiplayer trailblazer Chu Chu Rocket. 
 

Speaking of revivals, 1994 point-and-click adventure legend Beneath a Steel Sky is getting a long-awaited sequel in Beyond a Steel Sky. 

Here is a full list of all the games that have been confirmed so far. Some way short of the 100, you’ll note, so expect some surprises when the service launches.

• Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree
• Beyond a Steel Sky
• Box Project
• Cardpocalypse
• Doomsday Vault
• Down in Bermuda
• Enter The Construct
• Fantasian
• Frogger in Toy Town
• Hitchhiker
• Hot Lava
• Kings of the Castle
• Lego Arthouse
• Lego Brawls
• Lifelike
• Little Orpheus
• Mr Turtle
• Monomals
• No Way Home
• Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm
• Overland
• Projection: First Light
• Repair
• Sayonara Wild Hearts
• Shantae 5
• Shinsekai: Into The Depths
• Sneaky Sasquatch
• Sonic Racing
• Spidersaurs
• Spyder
• The Artful Escape
• The Pathless
• The Bradwell Conspiracy
• UFO on Tape: First Contact
• Where Cards Fall
• Winding Worlds
• Yaga