Is Apple Arcade Worth It?

The Apple Arcade subscription service includes more than 100 games, but is it worth the monthly fee? Let's take a closer look at this.

Apple has been known for many things over the years, both good and bad.

Despite being one of the world's largest tech companies, with firm footholds in the smartphone and PC markets, there is one market that Apple has never really broken into — gaming.

They attempted to create a video game console in the late 1990s, but the largely forgotten Apple Pippin failed to make any significant inroads into the already oversaturated console market dominated by Sony, Sega, and Nintendo.

While Apple has stopped developing gaming hardware, they have done something else to enter the video game market. They created Apple Arcade by repurposing existing hardware.

In this guide, we'll explain what Apple Arcade is and help you decide whether the content it provides is worth your money.

What Is Apple Arcade?

Apple Arcade is a subscription-based video game service available only on iOS and macOS. It is available on all Mac devices as well as all devices running iOS or one of its derivative operating systems — iPadOS or tvOS.

Apple Arcade is currently reasonably priced. The monthly subscription fee is $4.99, and an annual 12-month plan for $49.99 is also available, bringing the monthly fee down to around $4.

As long as the subscription is active, the user has access to a constantly expanding library of games, with new ones added on a weekly or biweekly basis.

As of February 2021, Apple Arcade had 151 titles, 53 of which were available when it first launched in September 2019.

Apple Arcade Games – Quality and Selection

The most important question now is, "How are the games?"

There's no denying that mobile gaming has gotten a lot of well-deserved flak over the last decade, with the majority of developers focusing on monetization rather than providing a proper gaming experience. This usually means that users must deal with intrusive ads, paywalls, and a plethora of microtransactions.

The games available on Apple Arcade, on the other hand, are not affected by this. Instead, they present mobile gaming in a new, or rather, old, light, as the majority of the games you'll find here are reminiscent of what mobile games were like before the microtransaction plague.

They have a lot of content to go through and no ads or in-game purchases — the subscription fee is the only money you'll spend.

Then there's the issue of genres — what genres can you find on Apple Arcade?

Overall, Apple Arcade has something for everyone, including fast-paced action-adventures, platformers, puzzles, racing, RPGs, strategy games, and some narrative-driven titles that prioritise story over gameplay.

Obviously, it's impossible to list and describe all of the games currently available on Apple Arcade, and not all of them are equally good or will appeal to everyone; however, the majority of the games are high-quality titles that we believe will provide some of the best mobile gaming experiences available in 2022.

Finally, while many of the games available on Apple Arcade are clearly "mobile," there are many other, more complex titles with 3D graphics that would be right at home on a PC or a console, and those games are almost certainly already multiplatform releases.

Final Thoughts – Is Apple Arcade Worth It?

So, at the end of the day, is Apple Arcade worth the $5 per month price tag?

As is usually the case with these questions, the answer is highly subjective and will depend on your tastes and preferences. As previously stated, the service has something for everyone, and there are a number of cross-platform titles available for a fraction of the price you'd pay if you bought them elsewhere.

Of course, it's not just the game selection; some people simply can't stand touchscreen controls in more complex 3D games. Fortunately, iOS and macOS devices support third-party controllers, so you can use a DualShock 4, an Xbox One Controller, or any other controller with the appropriate Bluetooth version that the operating system officially supports.

Xbox Game Pass vs. Apple Arcade
We must also remember that Apple Arcade does not exist in a vacuum, and it is not without competition. Apple's main competitors in this space right now are Sony's PlayStation Now and Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass.

Sony currently has over 800 games available on PS Now. These include a wide range of PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 titles, with the majority of them playable locally on a PS4 or streamed to either a PS4 or a PC.

The monthly fee for PS Now is $9.99, but the 3-month and 12-month plans are more affordable at $24.99 and $59.99, respectively. In terms of value, the latter really stands out, as it reduces the monthly price to only $5.

Meanwhile, the Xbox Game Pass currently offers nearly 400 games, including a mix of Xbox and PC titles. It currently costs $9.99 on Xbox One and $4.99 on PC. There is also a $14.99 monthly plan that includes both platforms and includes Xbox Live Gold for good measure, which means you get a couple of free games each month as well as some exclusive discounts.

Apple Arcade Cost
Having said that, Apple Arcade is a bit of a tough sell if you're looking for high-budget titles to play on a larger screen. Sony and Microsoft both have a much larger selection of games available for your console or PC.

Of course, it's not completely without merit. Apple Arcade is a great choice if you're looking for simpler mobile games to play on the go on your iPhone or iPad in short bursts. It's well worth the $5 if you want to play a variety of good mobile games without having to deal with annoying ads and microtransactions.