Skip to main content

Apple Arcade reportedly supported by investments of more than $500 million

Apple Arcade, Apple’s video game subscription service, will reportedly be supported by investments worth over $500 million, revealing its importance to the company’s plans.

Apple is spending several million dollars on more than 100 games for Apple Arcade, sources told Financial Times, placing the budget to secure games for the service at more than $500 million. If the figure is accurate, it represents a fairly large commitment, especially when considering that the budget for the initial roster of shows for Apple TV Plus is $1 billion.

The Financial Times report also claimed that Apple is offering incentives to developers if they choose to release games as Apple Arcade exclusives.

All of the games offered in Apple Arcade will be exclusive to the mobile platform and will not be available on the Google Play Store, sources told 9to5Mac. The deal with developers are for “mobile exclusive” titles, so the games may also be eventually released on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, just not on Android. Nor will Apple Arcade games be available on the App Store as separate downloads.

HSBC analysts, quoted by Financial Times, predict that Apple Arcade revenues will grow from $370 million in 2020, to $2.7 billion in 2022, and to $4.5 billion in 2024, when there will be 29 million subscribers paying $12.99 per month for the service. It remains unclear if Apple will be able to reach significant success with Apple Arcade, but the company definitely has the money to spend to boost the service.

Apple Arcade will offer subscribers a wide selection of games that may be downloaded and played on iOS, Mac, and Apple TV. It will launch this fall through the App Store, with titles such as The Pathless, Lego Brawls, Hot Lava, Oceanhorn 2, and Beyond a Steel Sky. The games will not require an internet connection, unless they come with online multiplayer modes, and they may be shared between multiple devices through Apple’s Family Sharing feature.

The subscription price for the service remains unknown.

Apple Arcade was announced last month in Apple’s “It’s Show Time” event, alongside Apple News Plus that provides access to more than 300 magazines for $10 per month, a revamped Apple TV app, and the Apple TV Plus streaming service that will look to challenge Netflix.

Editors' Recommendations

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Apple slashes trade-in values for its iPhones and more
apple iphone xr review xxl

For at least the third time this year, Apple has slashed the trade-in values for its various products.

It means that if you’re shopping at Apple during this holiday season and plan to hand over your old device for a new one, the credit you receive will be less than if you’d done it before November 10.

Read more
Thanks, I hate it: Someone installed macOS on a Steam Deck
macOS Catalina running on a Steam Deck.

Yesterday we got the news that Apple might bring macOS to the iPad Pro. Today, someone has managed to get macOS to run on a Steam Deck. And tomorrow? I’m betting we’ll see macOS installed on a toaster. You heard it here first.

Back to the Steam Deck. The feat was achieved by enterprising Reddit user Lampa183, who apparently was able to get macOS Catalina running inside a VirtualBox virtual machine on their device. In other words, this is several layers of operating systems and emulation. But the result is worth it … right?

Read more
Apple could launch a Frankenstein iPad Pro that runs macOS
ipad pro 2021.

People have been complaining for years that Apple should just merge its mobile and desktop operating systems, and they might finally see their wish come true -- sort of. That’s because a new rumor claims Apple is working on bringing macOS to the M2 iPad Pro, but it could be nothing more than a tall tale.

The rumor comes from leaker Majin Bu on Twitter, who claims their sources have told them Apple is working on a “smaller” version of macOS that would be exclusively for the M2 iPad Pro, which Apple has only just released.

Read more