Skip to main content

Apple Vision Pro will support DualSense controller and over 100 Apple Arcade games

The new Apple Vision Pro headset can be a gaming device thanks to DualSense functionality and support for lots of Apple Arcade titles.

A person plays a game on the Apple Vision Pro.
Apple

We learned this while Apple was giving an overview of the Vision Pro’s entertainment possibilities during the device’s WWDC 2023 reveal. We saw footage of a person playing NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition with a DualSense controller while wearing the headset. The game appeared in its own dedicated flat window within the surrounding environment, so these aren’t fully immersive dedicated VR games; it’s more like playing normal PS5 games on your PlayStation VR2. The game will have some interactive 3D spatial apps, however, so those kinds of games certainly seem possible. A Unity partnership should also allow more games using that engine to come to Vision Pro. 

During this segment, Apple did confirm that over 100 Apple Arcade games will be playable on Vision Pro, but NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition is currently the only title that has been outright confirmed for the headset. I’d love to see games like Fantasian and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate get Vision Pro support. We also don’t know if Vision Pro will support any Bluetooth controllers other than Sony’s DualSense; hopefully, it’ll have the same controller compatibility as normal iPhone and Mac devices. Considering that the Vision Pro intentionally does not have a dedicated controller, that would definitely be a useful feature. 

Outside of that, gaming didn’t have too much of a presence during Apple’s Vision Pro reveal. Apple did tease that this is “only the start” of gaming’s presence on the device, suggesting that more video game experiences are in store for Vision Pro as the platform evolves over time. Gaming on Mac is evolving too, as that platform just got a dedicated game mode and will welcome Death Stranding: Director’s Cut in the future. 

Tomas Franzese
A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
Apple Arcade’s most popular game is coming to PlayStation, Switch, and PC
Hello Kitty bakes food in a cafe in Hello Kitty: Island Adventure.

Apple Arcade hit Hello Kitty: Island Adventure is coming to new platforms in 2025. The Animal Crossing-like life sim will launch on Nintendo Switch and PC in early 2025. It’ll be a timed console exclusive for Nintendo before coming to PlayStation 4 and PS5 shortly after.

Hello Kitty: Island Adventure is Apple Arcade’s most popular game, Arcade Senior Director Alex Rofman told me in an interview earlier this year. The iOS game takes the basic concept of Animal Crossing and adds in popular Sanrio characters. That experience has only been available to Apple Arcade subscribers for the past year, but it’ll soon make its way to more platforms.

Read more
The method to Apple Arcade’s madness? ‘Bring us an incredible game’
Apple Arcade characters stand on a chess board.

Whenever Apple rolls out a lofty new idea, it invites as many skeptics as it does fans. Devices like the Vision Pro birthed naysayers from the moment it was announced, but armchair criticism has rarely, if ever, put a dent in the tech giant’s plans. It has a way of committing to its products and initiatives, even when outsiders might think no one is using them.

That’s been the story of Apple Arcade since it launched in 2019. The service came at a time when the biggest tech companies were hungry for a piece of the lucrative video game industry. While Google and Amazon tried to break in with cloud platforms, Apple laid out an entirely different vision: a mobile subscription service full of games that featured no ads or microtransactions. It sounded too good to be true – and some people at that time weren't convinced. Look back at the comments on its original tweet announcing the service and you’ll find a mess of replies ripping it apart.

Read more
Apple Vision Pro is getting another batch of spatial games
Gameplay from the Apple Vision Pro version of Spire Blast.

Apple confirmed three more Apple Arcade titles that will get the spatial game treatment for Apple Vision Pro soon: Alto's Odyssey: The Lost City, Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, and Spire Blast.

These three conversions were confirmed in a February 15 blog post highlighting Apple Arcade's functionality with the Apple Vision Pro. Right now, the mobile versions of more than 250 Apple Arcade games are playable on the device, while 12 titles have been specifically redesigned as spatial games for the headset, including Game Room and Synth Riders. Senior Director of Apple Arcade Alex Rofman said in the blog post that Apple plans to "bring even more magical spatial gaming experiences to our customers soon," starting with the spatial game conversions of these three games already available via Apple Arcade.

Read more