Wednesday, November 6, 2024
SOFTWARE

Apple Arcade FAQ: Jetpack Joyride+ has been released

Apple Arcade FAQ: Jetpack Joyride+ has been released

What is Apple Arcade?

Apple Arcade is a gaming subscription service for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and AppleTV that features more than 150 games. The games are a mix of genres and styles, and include original games you’ll only find on the service and others that can be found on the regular App Store or even other platforms. Apple Arcade isn’t a streaming service like Google Stadia. Games must be downloaded onto your device in order to be played.

What do I need to run it?

Apple Arcade is available as part of iOS 13, iPad OS 13, tvOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. Some of the more visually-intensive games may only run well on newer hardware, though, and some Mac games require macOS 11 (Big Sur).

How much does Apple Arcade cost?

Apple Arcade costs $4.99 per month, and you’ll also get a one-month free trial. You can also sign up for the annual plan, which is $49.99.

If you’re currently on the $4.99 month-to-month plan and want to switch to the annual plan, you can do so on your iPhone or iPad. Open the App Store app, then tap your account icon in the upper right. Tap Subscriptions, then tap the entry for Apple Arcade. Here, you can switch to the annual plan. Apple Arcade is also included in the Apple One subscription bundles, which range from $10 a month to $30 a month.

How do I sign up for Apple Arcade?

There isn’t an Apple Arcade app—it’s built into the App Store. On your iPhone, iPad, or Mac open the App Store and look for the Apple Arcade tab at the bottom of the screen (or in the left column on macOS). A sign-up screen with a Try It Free button will appear. After the trial you’ll be charged either the monthly or annual fee, depending on your selection. When subscribing, you’ll need to enter your Apple ID password or use Touch ID or Face ID to sign in, and you’ll have to confirm your subscription purchase a few times.

Once you’re done with the sign up, the Arcade section of the App Store shows what games are available to you. To access a game, tap on it in the App Store, then tap the Get button. When the game is done installing on your device, the Get button turns into a Play button, and you can tap it to launch the game. The game app icon will also appear on your device’s Home page.

On the Apple TV, there actually is an Arcade app. Open that to see the sign-up offer. You’ll also find an Arcade tab within the App Store.

Does my subscription include family sharing?

Yes. One $4.99 per month subscription can be shared between up to six people (including you).

How do I cancel Apple Arcade?

First off, keep in mind that if you cancel Apple Arcade (either before your free trial is up or after subscribing), you won’t be able to keep playing the games unless you re-subscribe. If you’re okay with that, you can use the same process you use to cancel any other subscription service. Here’s the easiest way to do it on the iPhone and iPad:

  1. Open the App Store app and tap on your profile photo in the upper right.
  2. In the screen that pops up, press Subscriptions near the top of the page.
  3. You’ll then see a list of active subscriptions, and Apple Arcade should be listed there. Tap it.
  4. You’ll either see Cancel Free Trial or Cancel Subscription toward the middle of the page that appears. Tap whatever option is available, then Confirm Cancellation.

And here’s how to cancel Apple Arcade on the Mac:

  1. Open the App Store app and then press the icon with your profile photo in the lower left.
  2. The Account window will appear, and you should then click View Information at the top of the window. Enter your password when/if prompted.
  3. When your Account Information appears, scroll down to the Manage section and click the Manage link to the right of Subscriptions.
  4. When the list of your active subscriptions appears, click Edit to the right of Apple Arcade.
  5. Toward the middle of the page that appears, you’ll see a button that says either Cancel Free Trial or Cancel Subscription. Click it, then click Confirm Cancellation and Confirm.

How do I access Apple Arcade games?

Apple Arcade is its own tab in the App Store. You can find games to download there, and grab anything you like without fear of being charged, seeing ads, or having to later buy in-app purchases.

Once downloaded, Apple Arcade games are found just like any other app on your device.

You’ll find this tab on the Mac, too.

Does Apple curate the games on Apple Arcade?

Yes. Apple says it is “handpicking the games in Apple Arcade” and that it curates them “based on originality, quality, creativity, fun, and their appeal to players of all ages.”

Do Apple Arcade games have in-app purchases?

No. In Apple’s words, “since every game includes access to the full experience, including all game features, content, and future updates, no additional purchases will be required.” Even games that have in-app purchases on the App Store won’t have any in Apple Arcade.

Do Apple Arcade games have ads?

Also no. On a related note, Apple says Apple Arcade has no ad tracking.

Is Apple Arcade a game streaming service like Google’s Stadia or Xbox Game Streaming?

No. All Apple Arcade are downloaded.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=67umVefSXnY

Are Apple Arcade games available on other systems?

Apple Arcade games were originally exclusive to Apple Arcade—not in the regular App Store nor on any other mobile platform. Some would appear on PC or consoles, but never in a subscription service.

Apple has since relaxed that policy somewhat, and you can find games in Apple Arcade that also exist in the regular App Store or on Android. They are usually denoted by a “+” at the end, to differentiate the Apple Arcade version (free to download with your subscription, and free from ads or in-app purchases) from the App Store version. For example Mini Metro (App Store) vs. Mini Metro+ (Apple Arcade).

Will I still be able to buy games on the App Store without an Apple Arcade subscription?

Yes. There’s no sign that the existing games model will be going away, as it works fine for freemium games like Idle Heroes or Toon Blast. Apple is focusing on “handpicked” games for Apple Arcade, so there’s little doubt that the library will be much smaller than the thousands of games available in the App Store.

Are there demos for Apple Arcade games?

No, and they’re not really necessary. Like App Store apps, games download quickly and can easily be removed if you don’t want to keep it anymore.

Apple partly envisions Apple Arcade as a way of letting players try out games with more freedom than the App Store currently allows (which is basically none). In Apple’s words, “rather than pay upfront for each game, a subscription to Apple Arcade will give players the opportunity to try any game in the service without risk.”

The service has a free trial, though, as we’ve seen with both Apple Music and Apple News+.

Am I able to keep playing Apple Arcade games if I cancel my subscription?

No. As with most subscription services, you only have access while you’re a subscriber.

Can I use controllers with Apple Arcade games?

Yes. In additional to traditional MFi (Made for iOS) controllers, you can pair some specific Bluetooth controllers for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with either your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. Since many Apple Arcade games are playable on Mac and Apple TV (where controller support is more common), many games will support them. Some games, especially those that are also available in the broader App Store and only for iPhone or iPad, have no controller support.

Recently Apple relaxed the requirements for MFi controller certification, which may have grown out of the Apple Arcade negotiations.

How often are new games released?

Games are typically released on Fridays, but not every Friday. The release schedule is sporadic—some Fridays there are no new games released, some see one game released, some more than one. Sometimes there will be no new game release, but existing games will get a big update with new content and features.

On average, new games are released at a rate of about one every 2-3 weeks, though this may improve as Apple has loosened the rules around Apple Arcade exclusivity.

What games have been released so far?

There are over 150 games available for Apple Arcade, and the list grows all the time.

Title Publisher Release Date
A Fold Apart Lightning Rod Games 04/17/20
A Monster’s Expedition Draknek Limited 09/10/20
Agent Intercept Prodigy Design 09/19/19
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure ustwo 12/11/20
All of You Alike Studio 11/06/20
Alto’s Odyssey: The Lost City Team Alto / Snowman 07/16/21
Angry Birds Reloaded Rovio 07/16/21
Assemble With Care ustwo 09/19/19
ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree Wildboy Studios 09/19/19
Ballistic Baseball Gameloft 10/18/19
BattleSky Brigade: Harpooner BattleBrew Productions 09/19/19
Beyond a Steel Sky Revolution Software 06/26/20
Beyond Blue E-Line Media 04/17/20
Big Time Sports Frosty Pop Games 09/19/19
Bleak Sword Devolver Digital 09/19/19
Butter Royale Mighty Bear Games 01/24/20
Card of Darkness Pendleton Ward 09/19/19
Cardpocalypse Versus Evil 09/19/19
Cat Quest II The Gentlebros. 09/19/19
Charrua Soccer Batovi Games 02/07/20
ChuChu Rocket! Universe Sega 09/19/19
Clap Hanz Golf Claphanz 04/02/21
Cozy Grove Spry Fox 03/18/21
Creaks Amanita Design 07/10/20
Cricket Through the Ages Devolver Digital 09/19/19
Crossy Road Castle Hipster Whale 02/28/20
Cut the Rope Remastered Paladin Studios 04/02/21
Dead End Job Headup GmbH, Ant Workshop 09/19/19
Dear Reader Local No. 12 09/19/19
Decoherence Efecto Estudios 10/11/19
Discolored Shifty Eye Games & Jason Godbey 11/08/19
Dodo Peak Moving Pieces Interactive 09/19/19
Don’t Bug Me! Frosty Pop Games 09/19/19
Doodle God Universe JoyBits 07/16/21
Doomsday Vault Flightless 01/03/20
Down in Bermuda Yak & Co 09/19/19
Dread Nautical Zen Studios 09/19/19
EarthNight Cleaversoft 09/19/19
Exit the Gungeon Devolver Digital 09/19/19
Explottens WRP Pvt. 09/19/19
Fallen Knight FairPlay Studios 10/25/19
Fantasian Mistwalker 04/01/21
Farm It! Tummy Games 03/26/21
Fledgling Heroes Subtle Boom 09/19/19
Frenzic: Overtime The Iconfactory 06/18/21
Frogger in Toy Town Konami 09/19/19
Game Dev Story+ Kairosoft Co., Ltd 06/18/21
Game of Thrones: Tale of Crows Devolver Digital 08/07/20
Grindstone Capybara Games 09/19/19
Guildlings Sirvo Studios, Inc. 11/08/19
Hexaflip: The Action Puzzler Rogue Games, Inc. 09/19/19
HitchHiker Versus Evil 03/26/21
Hogwash Bossa Studios 10/25/19
Hot Lava Klei Entertainment 09/19/19
HyperBrawl Tournament Milkey Tea Limited 09/19/19
INKS.+ State of Play Games 06/25/21
INMOST Chucklefish Limited 10/11/19
Jenny LeClue Mografi 09/19/19
Jetpack Joyride+ Halfbrick Studios 07/23/21
Jumper Jon Ogre Pixel 11/01/19
King’s League II Kurechi Sdn. Bhd. 09/19/19
Kings of the Castle Frosty Pop 01/17/20
Legend of the Skyfish 2 Crescent Moon Games 04/03/20
Legends of Kingdom Rush Ironhide Game Studio 06/11/21
Lego Brawls The Lego Group 09/19/19
Lego Builder’s Journey The Lego Group 12/19/19
Leo’s Fortune+ 1337 & Senri LLC 06/25/21
Lifelike kunabi brother 10/25/19
Lifeslide Dreamteck 09/19/19
Little Orpheus Sumo Digital 06/12/20
Lumen Lykkegaard International 02/05/21
Manifold Garden William Chyr Studio 10/18/19
Marble It Up: Mayhem! Marble it up 11/08/19
Marble Knights WayForward 09/18/20
Mind Symphony Rogue Games, Inc. 10/11/19
Mini Motorways Dinosaur Polo Club 09/19/19
Monomals Picomy 11/01/19
Murder Mystery Machine Blazing Griffin 09/19/19
Mutazione Die Gute Fabrik 09/19/19
NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition 2K Sports 04/02/21
Necrobarista Route 59 07/17/20
Neo Cab Chance Agency 09/19/19
Neversong Serenity Forge 05/01/20
Next Stop Nowhere Night School Studio 08/14/20
Nightmare Farm Hit-Point Co., Ltd. 10/05/19
No Way Home SMG Studio 01/10/20
NUTS Noodlecake Studios 01/22/21
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm Cornfox & Bros. 09/19/19
Oceanhorn: Chronos Dungeon Cornfox & Bros. 01/08/21
Operator 41 Shifty Eye Games 09/19/19
Outlanders Pomelo Games 09/19/19
Over the Alps Stave Studios 09/19/19
Overland Finji 09/19/19
PAC-MAN Party Royale BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment 10/18/19
Painty Mob Devolver Digital 09/19/19
Patterned BorderLeap 09/19/19
Pilgrims Amanita Design 10/05/19
Populus Run FIFTYTWO 01/29/21
Possessions Noodlecake Studios 09/19/19
Projection: First Light Blowfish Studios 09/19/19
Punch Planet Sector-K Games 09/19/19
Rayman Mini Ubisoft 09/19/19
Red Reign Ninja Kiwi Limited 09/19/19
Redout: Space Assault 34BigThings 10/05/19
Reigns: Beyond Devolver Digital 11/06/20
Rosie’s Reality RosieReality 11/15/19
Roundguard Wonderbelly Games 03/13/20
Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time Cartoon Network 08/21/20
Sayonara Wild Hearts Annapurna Interactive 09/19/19
Scrappers Q-Games 04/10/20
Secret Oops! Mixedbag 01/31/20
Shantae and the Seven Sirens WayForward 09/19/19
Shinsekai: Into the Depths Capcom 09/19/19
ShockRods Stainless Games 10/11/19
Simon’s Cat – Story Time Tactile Games Limited 04/02/21
Skate City Snowman 09/19/19
Slash Quest Noodlecake Studios 10/01/20
Sneaky Sasquatch RAC7 09/19/19
Sociable Soccer Rogue Games, Inc. 11/08/19
Solitaire Stories Red Games Co. 07/02/21
SongPop Party Gameloft 04/02/21
Sonic Racing Sega 09/19/19
South of the Circle State of Play 10/30/20
Sp!ng SMG Studio 03/05/21
Spaceland Tortuga Games 09/19/19
Speed Demons Radiangames 09/19/19
Spek RAC7 Games 09/19/19
Spelldrifter Free Range Games 09/19/19
Spidersaurs WayForward 09/19/19
Spire Blast Orbital Knight sp. 01/22/21
Spongebob SquarePants: Patty Pursuit Nickelodeon 05/28/20
Spyder Sumo_Digital 03/20/20
Star Fetched Crescent Moon Games 11/01/19
Star Trek: Legends Tilting Point LLC 04/02/21
Stela SkyBox Labs 10/11/19
Stellar Commanders Blindflug Studios 09/19/19
Steven Universe: Unleash the Light Cartoon Network 11/27/19
Stranded Sails Shifty Eye Games 09/19/19
Super Impossible Road Rogue Games, Inc. 09/19/19
Super Mega Mini Party Red Games Co, LLC 11/01/19
Survival Z Ember Entertainment 02/19/21
Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment 04/02/21
Takeshi and Hiroshi Oink Games Inc. 11/08/19
Tales of Memo Tendays Studio 10/25/19
Tangle Tower SFB Games 09/19/19
The Bradwell Conspiracy Bossa Studios 10/05/19
The Collage Atlas Robot House Games Ltd 10/16/20
The Enchanted World Noodlecake Studios 09/19/19
The Get Out Kids Frosty Pop Games 09/19/19
The Last Campfire Hello Games 08/27/20
The Loud House: Outta Control Nickelodeon 02/14/20
The Lullaby of Life 1 Simple Game 07/24/20
The Mosaic Raw Fury 11/01/19
The Oregon Trail Gameloft 04/02/21
The Otherside The Label 05/08/20
The Pathless Annapurna Interactive 11/12/20
The Pinball Wizard Frosty Pop Games 09/19/19
The Survivalists Team17 10/08/20
Things That Go Bump Tinybop Inc. 10/18/19
tint. Lykkegaard International 09/19/19
Towaga: Among Shadows Noodlecake Studios 09/19/19
Towers of Everland Cobra Mobile Limited 05/22/20
UFO on Tape: First Contact Revolutionary Concepts 11/08/19
Ultimate Rivals: The Court Bit Fry Games 07/09/21
Ultimate Rivals: The Rink Bit Fry Games 12/12/19
Various Daylife Square Enix 09/19/19
Warp Drive Supergonk 11/27/20
Way of the Turtle Illusion Labs 09/19/19
What the Golf Fig 09/19/19
Where Cards Fall Snowman 09/19/19
Winding Worlds KO_OP 05/15/20
Wonderbox: The Adventure Maker Aquiris 04/01/21
Word Laces minimega 09/19/19
World of Demons PlatinumGames 04/02/21
World’s End Club IzanagiGames 09/04/20
Yaga Versus Evil 10/25/19
Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes Firefly Games 12/04/20

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