Skip to main content

How to use Apple Arcade on a Mac

If you recently subscribed to Apple Arcade, then it’s good to know that you aren’t limited to gaming on your mobile device. You can open Apple Arcade on your Mac and download a new game, continue playing one from another device, review your game achievements, and receive notifications for upcoming games.

So that you make the most of your subscription, let’s walk through how to use Apple Arcade on a Mac.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Mac computer

  • Apple Arcade subscription

how to use apple arcade mac app store
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Open Apple Arcade on Mac

Apple Arcade is part of the App Store. Just like on iPhone and iPad, you’ll see an area dedicated to it in the App Store’s navigation.

Select Arcade on the left side of the App Store on Mac and you’re in!

Filter and sort games

The Apple Arcade main screen is full of gaming options. As you scroll through, you’ll see sections for Top Arcade Games, New Games, Recently Updated, Collections, Coming Soon, and more.

If you want to find a particular game, you can use the Search on the top left of the App Store window. However, any keywords you use to search will return results from other sections of the App Store, not just Apple Arcade.

Instead, use the filter and sort features.

Step 1: Scroll to the bottom of the Apple Arcade main screen and click See All Games.

Step 2: By default, you’ll see games Coming Soon and beneath those, all games listed by release date with the most recent first. Click Filters on the top right to view games differently.

Step 3: You can filter by age rating and controller or multiplayer support. You can then sort by release date, last updated, name, or category.

This gives you a convenient way to browse your options, but more specific to your needs. Select a game to view all the details.

how to use apple arcade mac filter sort
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Download games from Apple Arcade

With an Apple Arcade subscription, the games are available for free. So you’ll only see a Get button rather than one that shows as Free or displays a price like other App Store apps.

To download a game, just click Get and you’ll see the progress as the circle turns. To stop a download in progress, click the square inside the circle.

how to use apple arcade mac continue playing
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Continue playing from another device

Using the same Apple ID as that on your iPhone or iPad, you can pick up right where you leave off with a game in Apple Arcade on Mac.

On the main Arcade screen, scroll down to the Continue Playing section. You’ll see games in progress on your other device. Note that not all games you play on iOS or iPadOS are available for MacOS.

Click Play to continue playing a game or select Get to download the game and then continue your gameplay on Mac.

View and share game achievements

While you can view game achievements for all games you download and play from the App Store, you can specifically look at those for Apple Arcade games.

Step 1: Head to the Arcade section of the App Store, select the game, and go to the Achievements section of the game details. Even if you haven’t downloaded that game to your Mac yet, you’ll still see the achievements completed while playing on your other device.

how to use apple arcade mac achievements
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: To view each individual achievement, click the arrow to expand the section. You’ll then see a new screen with Completed and Locked achievements.

Step 3: If you want to share an achievement, right-click it and select Share. Then choose the app you’d like to share with from your Mac’s Share Menu.

how to use apple arcade mac share achievement
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Receive upcoming game notifications

You can see upcoming games in the Coming Soon section of the main Apple Arcade screen and if you include Coming Soon when you filter and sort the games as described above.

If you see an upcoming game that interests you, you can receive a notification when it becomes available.

Click the Get button. You’ll see an on-screen alert that you will be notified when the game is released. Hit OK to acknowledge the alert and then be sure to check your email for that cool new game.

Once you choose to receive the notification, that game’s Get button will be grayed out in Apple Arcade. So, if you can’t remember whether you requested a notification or not, that’s your indicator. You can also check your account profile to view these notifications.

Editors' Recommendations

Sandy Writtenhouse
Sandy has been writing about technology since 2012. Her work has appeared on How-To Geek, Lifewire, MakeUseOf, iDownloadBlog…
The best MacBook to buy in 2024
Apple MacBook Pro 16 downward view showing keyboard and speaker.

Now that Apple has started outfitting its laptops with its M3 generation of chips, it's time to take another look at which is the best MacBook to buy in 2024. That’s not always easy, though, as buying the newest MacBook isn’t always the right decision. Apple has several tiers of performance, as well as various sizes, which can further complicate the matter.

What’s more, you can also still get M1 and M2 MacBooks, some from Apple’s own website and some from third-party retailers. But are they still worth your money? Our guide should help you decide.

Read more
How to find a lost or stolen MacBook
The MacBook Air on a table in front of a window.

Whether you accidentally left your laptop on a plane, or it was stolen out of its sleeve when you weren’t looking, losing your MacBook is a horrible feeling. Luckily, Apple’s Find My network has provided macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devotees with a safe and reliable way to recover these missing devices. And unlike certain brands that place advanced surveillance features behind paywalls, the Find My network is completely free — you’ll just need to do a few things to get it set up.

Read more
How to insert footnotes in Word on PC and Mac
A person drinking coffee while using a laptop at a table.

When you're working on a text document and making sure to cite your sources, it's helpful to have a way to keep your footnotes organized and in order. And footnotes can be useful for functions beyond citations too, as a place to add extra notes or commentary which you want to keep as part of your document but without interrupting the flow of your main text.

For adding footnotes in a Word document, there's a special footnote function which will automatically format your footnotes and make them look neat and professional. It's one of those Microsoft Word tricks that's useful to have up your sleeve, so we'll show you how to add a footnote to a Word document in this guide.

Read more