Entertainment

Apple's Exciting New Subscription Service Is Basically Netflix For Gamers

by Sophie McEvoy
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
How to automatically update your iPhone to the latest iOS.
Shutterstock

With the recent release of the iPhone 11, Apple has once again raised the bar for innovative technology. With dual-lens cameras and a whole host of other improvements, it became one of 2019's most anticipated products. In conjunction with the smartphone's release and iOS 13, the tech company also introduced a new subscription service that is set to change the face of mobile gaming from here on out. So what is Apple Arcade, and how exactly does it work?

Similar to Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now for home consoles, Apple Arcade will provide a Netflix-like service for gamers for £4.99 a month. This is considerably cheaper than both Xbox and PlayStation, which costs £7.99 and £12.99 a month. Obviously, Apple Arcade won't feature titles like Red Dead Redemption or Borderlands, but it does have a whole host of quality mobile game content.

Although, as The Guardian reports Apple has partnered with game publishers like Konami and Capcom, with games like "Lego Brawls, Beyond a Steel Sky, Sonic Racing, and Sayonara Wild Hearts" available on the service.

Each service allows players to choose from hundreds of games, without having to purchase each one individually. It also provides a neater and more concise interface making it easier to decide which games you want to play. This is especially prevalent on Apple products, as you won't have to deal with swiping across mulitple screens to get to the games you want to play.

Focusing on quality over quantity, the Apple Arcade library has been specifically curated "from many of the most innovative game developers in the world," as Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said in a press statement. And since players will be spending monthly on the service, advertisements and in-app purchases will become a thing of the past.

As tech site Gizmodo writes, you'll find Apple Arcade under a new tab in the app store, which will also give you a "typical App Store" experience with "download suggestions". The site also mentions how you'll be able to play these games over all of Apple's devices, which currently include the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. It will be available on Mac in October, according to the press statement.

Within a week of its release, Apple Arcade has already become a competitor to Google's app store Google Play. In response to this, Google Play Pass has officially become a thing and offers a similar service for $4.99 (around £4) a month. As BBC reports, the service is currently only available in the U.S., "but the firm has suggested that it will be extended to other countries soon."

It's interesting to see where what sort of future these subscription-based gaming services will lead to. In terms of home console gaming, it'll definitely be a welcome change for overpriced games to become readily available in this sort of format.

Services like PlayStation Now and Xbox Pass will certainly be upping the ante if Apple Arcade starts to bag big titles — especially on devices capable of supporting their hardware.

This article was originally published on