Arcade Originals, Timeless Classics, and App Store Greats offer fun for all the family
Apple Arcade was already the best value of Apple’s subscriptions offerings, with over 100 high-quality ad-free games available for a monthly charge of just $5/£5. Despite that, we suspect subscription numbers have been dropping off as players grew tired of a library that hasn’t changed much since its launch in 2019.
But today Apple has announced a huge expansion to the service, adding to the steady drip-feed of new titles with more than 30 additions from mobile gaming’s past and present. The catalog now includes a new set of Apple Arcade Originals alongside a bunch of familiar games that fit into new ‘Timeless Classics’ and ‘App Store Greats’ categories.
As ever, all these games work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV – and are completely free from ads and in-app purchases. The quality of the games is (on average) leagues above the rest of the App Store.
With this latest addition, Apple seems to be targeted casual and non-gamers who may not consider themselves candidates for Apple Arcade. There are now best-in-class version of Chess, Sudoku, Backgammon, Solitaire, Crosswords, and more as part of the ‘Timeless Classics’ category, all of which have a wide appeal.
Meanwhile, the ‘App Store Greats’ section features critically-acclaimed classics from years gone by, including Monument Valley, Threes!, Fruit Ninja, Chameleon Run, and Mini Metro. If you missed any of these the first time around, now’s a great chance to play through the lot with a single subscription.
The new Arcade Originals include some familiar franchises too, with brand-new and mobile-exclusive titles from NBA, Simon’s Cat, Star Trek, Oregon Trail, Cut the Rope, and SongPop.
To see more about these games and more, simply open the App Store and head to the Arcade tab. If you’ve never signed up for Apple Arcade before, the first month is free.