Apple’s all-you-can-eat game subscription service, Arcade, will cost £4.99 in the UK or $4.99 a month in the US and will be available in more than 150 countries from 13 September.
Arcade, which was demonstrated during the unveiling of Apple’s latest iPhones on Tuesday, is an attempt to turn the mobile gaming industry on its head and add an extensive new revenue stream to the company’s books.
Users will have access to a library of more than 100 games, some of which will be exclusive to the service and not available as separate purchases. There will be no ads or in-app purchases in any of the Arcade games and they will be playable on or offline on iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, with Xbox or PS4 controller support on certain devices.
Apple has partnered with big-name game publishers including Konami and Capcom. Games will include Lego Brawls, Beyond a Steel Sky, Sonic Racing and Sayonara Wild Hearts.
Video game subscription services are nothing new. Microsoft recently launched a revamped Game Pass Ultimate on its Xbox console and Windows 10, costing £10.99 a month in the UK. Nintendo’s Switch Online service, at £3.49 a month, provides access to a library of NES and SNES games alongside online play.
Google is working on a mobile game subscription service for Android, called Google Play Pass, which is thought to consist of a curated library of games without adverts and with all in-app purchases unlocked.
Amazon took a similar approach with its Underground service, which launched in 2015 and closed this year.