Stardew Valley leads Apple Arcade's storming gaming lineup for July

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Slay the Spire and Stardew Valley are just the start.

Stardew Valley on iPad through Apple Arcade
(Image credit: iMore)

Apple Arcade is getting a bunch of classic games that are only going to add value to the monthly and annual subscription, with Stardew Valley+ Slay the Spire+ and a brand new mode coming to Jetpack Joyride 2 across July.

For those unaware, Stardew Valley was released back in February 2016, and created by ConcernedApe, where it was critically acclaimed because of its calming RPG tropes in simply taking care of a farm, alongside its great art style, music, and great mods on PC you could easily install.

The beauty of Apple Arcade is that you can play them across your devices, and Stardew Valley will be a great example of how well this will work when it's released on July 21. You can get to work on your farm on your iPhone, then continue it on your Mac during a lunch break, then look into something else on your Apple TV once you're back home.

With Apple clearly showing a bigger commitment to gaming in recent years with its Game Porting Kit coming to macOS Sonoma later this year, there are plenty of other games that could benefit from being on Apple Arcade too.

Apple's arcade armory is growing

Slay the Spire on iPad through Apple Arcade

(Image credit: iMore)

It's worth mentioning that it's not just three games coming to Apple Arcade in July - the single-player card-wielding game, Slay the Spire releases on July 7, with Ridiculous Fishing EX, by Finnish developers Vlambeer, coming out the week after on July 14.

But a big one for kids will be Hello Kitty Island Adventure on July 28. Looking reminiscent of Nintendo's Animal Crossing, you can join friends to restore an abandoned island to its former glory, while you can craft items, solve puzzles, and decorate cabins to bring new visitors to the island.

There are also content updates coming to Mini Motorways and Mini Metro+ alongside Jetpack Joyride 2, and Cut the Rope Remastered, so there's clearly going to be something for almost everyone.

At this point, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some other classic games come to the service, such as Sonic Mania and even a Final Fantasy entry for Square Enix to test the waters with.

But for now, seeing both Stardew Valley+ and Slay the Spire+ join Apple Arcade is going to be an easy sell to a lot of users who haven't subscribed as yet, and it'll be interesting to see what else could be coming across the year.

Daryl Baxter
Daryl Baxter
Features Editor

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use every day to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. His second book, '50 Years of Boss Fights', came out in June 2024, and has a monthly newsletter called 'Springboard'. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64, and Daily Star.