Apple Arcade will be a game subscription
service available through iOS, macOS and tvOS,
somewhat representing the Cupertino firm’s
answer to Xbox Game Pass. It’ll be priced at
$4.99 a month, and for that outlay, subscribers
will receive access to a library of “curated”
games that they will be able to play across all
of their Apple devices – iPhones, iPads, Macs,
Apple TVs... all of them. Oh, and it’ll also be
possible to share a subscription with as many
as six family members.
Curiously, while Apple showcased just three
games during the keynote itself that it said
would be exclusive to Apple Arcade, a much
longer list of titles primed to debut on the
service was included in a separate press release
issued after the presentation.
Games previewed by Apple at the event
included Frogger in Toy Town, which entails
guiding a frog through a bathroom while
jumping over obstacles and collecting jelly
beans, as well as scuba-diving game Into the
Depths and what was described as a “playable
musical video”, Sayonara Wild Hearts.
The company added that Apple Arcade would
have a total of 100 all-new games at launch
that would be unavailable via any other service,
with new games then being added every
month. As for when that launch will be, iOS 13
users will only have to wait until September
19, and the date for iPadOS and tvOS 13 is
September 30. Meanwhile, for macOS Catalina,
the firm was only specific enough to state an
October launch.