Apple Arcade got more expensive, but the quality never justified it — here's how it can hook mobile gamers like me back to the service

I literally play Apple Arcade for a living. From this column to being iMore’s gaming expert, I need to make sure I know what is going on with Apple gaming every week. Part of that is playing the latest Arcade releases, to see if they’re worth talking about here at Pips and Pixels. Though it’s almost always easy to recommend a game or two every week, I can’t help but stare over with envy at every other gaming subscription on the market, in the hopes we get something similar. 

Amazingly, just last week, I even grew jealous of Netflix’s new commitment to its own Stories games with over 80 games in development. This isn’t even an independent subscription — you get Netflix games with a Netflix paid account. Though I can’t imagine I’ll be playing the next Love is Blind Choose Your Own Adventure, the clearly choreographed commitment given to fans of the show is great, and something Apple could benefit from watching. I want to know something is in the works, and here’s how I think Apple should do it. 

What Apple Arcade could do next to justify that subscription cost

Resident Evil Village, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Death Stranding. Though I wasn’t a huge fan of Mirage’s performance, there’s an undeniable effort being put into making AAA games run on iPhone 15 Pro, yet nothing on Apple Arcade takes advantage of it. You could make the argument that Apple doesn’t want to alienate its own user base by paying for games that some owners can’t even run, but then Apple Vision Pro has exclusive titles on the platform like What the Golf? and Game Room. 

Apple Arcade increased from $5.99 to $6.99 at the latter half of last year and, while I still like the service, I don’t feel like the rise in quality games has really matched that increase. We recently saw some excellent titles like Dicey Dungeons and Vampire Survivors but no big hitters like you find in PlayStation or Microsoft’s offering. These are, of course, quite different markets but even Amazon Luna Plus, which is only a few dollars a month, offers a wider, more impressive catalogue of games. 

It might be a bit of a long shot but Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which has already been extensively showcased on Apple devices, would make me feel like my monthly subscription is worth that price and would leave me quite content for a few months at that cost. It doesn't even necessarily need to be new games to make Apple Arcade feel like a more complete service. If Resident Evil Village or Hitman: Blood Money — Reprisal made its way to the service, it would help round out a subscription that is already packed to the brims with more casual titles. 

It is likely, looking at the most popular titles right now, that Apple gamers just haven’t really spent much time digging into the less casual titles on the service. In the “Top Arcade Games” section of Apple Arcade, the top five are made up of Football Manager, Solitaire, Crossword Jam, Outlanders 2, Snake.io, and Bloons TD 6. These are good in their own right but don’t take time to fully get into and can be effectively played in five-minute intervals if that’s all you have. Though this makes some sense given the portability of the best iPhones, iPads and Macs are a slightly more stationary affair so it’s a shame we don’t see some of the service’s more complicated games in there. Ultimately though, this is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Unless Apple starts to launch bigger and more “AAA” like experiences on the platform, we won’t see their potential popularity on the service. 

Fundamentally, as Apple’s pricing structure starts to approach the cost of the more “hardcore” gaming services, it needs to pick up those bigger titles or exclusives to match. I haven’t seen a justification for that price increase yet. 

Calendar: July's Big Game Releases

• Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is a Mac-compatible adventure game that just launched on Steam. In it, the entire world is set on a tile that moves as you do. It's a puzzle game with a fantasy aesthetic, where you have to manipulate items like in 2048 or threes to beat enemies. 

Level Up — Gaming accessories on our radar

The best Macs need a good mechanical keyboard to get the most out of them. For both gaming and working, I’ve found a nice sturdy low profile keyboard is a good choice, as it is easy to type on for hours at a time, and tends to not take up too much space on a desk. If it can have a unique aesthetic, all the better. 

Willow Mechanical Keyboard | $129.99 at Amazon

With a great-looking retro aesthetic, low-profile keys great for a tidy setup, and high-speed wireless transmission, the KSI-Wombat Willow mechanical keyboard is a really solid choice for any Mac gamer. It also comes with a separate section above the keys for functions, meaning you don’t accidentally misclick and skip a song when trying to type in a number. The battery life isn’t great in this one, with it only lasting a few days out of a charge but it’s a super sturdy board with a lot to love. 

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Hitting the Arcade — What to play on Apple Arcade

Apple Arcade is filled with tons of exclusive experiences and fantastic games. However, with so many out there, it can be hard to decide what to play. Here’s what I've been testing out this week:

Grindstone has been on Apple Arcade for years now, being a launch title for the service, yet I’ve only recently had the chance to properly dig into it. It takes the most moreish elements of a match-three game and infuses it with enough charm to stand out five years later. Playing an adventurer, you have to connect enemies of the same color in a small box to make high combos. With a big enough combo, a grindstone appears, which allows you to swap between colors in a combo. If you plan out your moves right, you can stack up huge combos… and suddenly two hours have passed. This is a perfect winddown game just before bed. 

Have you played any great games this week or seen some interesting Apple gaming news we've missed? Let us know in the comments!