Apple Arcade Games Reportedly Permitted on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch After Brief Exclusivity

Apple is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to secure new games for its forthcoming Apple Arcade subscription service, with its total budget likely to exceed $500 million, according to the Financial Times.

apple arcade devices
The report, citing several people involved in the project's development, claims Apple is incentivizing developers by spending several million dollars each on most of the more than 100 games that have been selected to be available on Apple Arcade when the service launches later this year.

While the report claims games on ‌Apple Arcade‌ will not be available on Android or through other subscription-based gaming services, it says developers will be permitted to release their games on PCs or other games consoles such as the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation after a few months of exclusivity.

‌Apple Arcade‌ will feature titles from well-known brands such as Disney, Sega, Lego, Cartoon Network, and Konami, as well as indie studios such as Snowman, Annapurna Interactive, WayForward, and Klei Entertainment.


Apple has yet to reveal pricing for its Arcade service, slated to launch in fall 2019 in more than 150 countries across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. All games on ‌Apple Arcade‌ will be fully-featured, all-you-can-play experiences, with no ads and no in-app purchases necessary.

‌Apple Arcade‌ will be accessible via a dedicated tab in the App Store.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
General Black Friday Deals 24 Green Tinsel

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now: AirPods, iPads, and More

Friday November 22, 2024 5:28 am PST by
We're officially just one week away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 29 in 2024. As always, this week is the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
anker new xmas 1

Anker Kicks Off Massive Black Friday Sale With Up to 50% Off Sitewide, Free Gifts With Purchase, Mystery Boxes, and More

Thursday November 21, 2024 7:53 am PST by
Anker today kicked off its big Black Friday sale, which is set to run through December 9. This sale includes notable discounts on portable chargers, USB-C hubs, cables, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. There are a few bonus offers during this event as ...
Apple 2024 Black Friday Shopping Event feature

Apple Announces 2024 Black Friday Event, Offering Up to $200 Gift Card

Thursday November 21, 2024 5:10 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 29 through Monday, December 2 in many countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and others. During the event, customers can get an Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible product. In the U.S., for instance, Apple is including gift ...
apple card feature2

Apple Card 3% Daily Cash Back Now Available From Two More Apple Partners

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:36 am PST by
Apple has partnered with select merchants to offer Apple Card users three percent Daily Cash back on their purchases, and two new companies were added to the partner list today. When purchasing goods and services from Booking.com and ChargePoint, Apple Card users will now get more cash back. Booking.com is a site for reserving flights, cars, cruises, and hotels, while ChargePoint sells...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
15 inch m3 macbook air

Amazon Takes Up to $300 Off M3 MacBook Air With New All-Time Low Prices

Wednesday November 20, 2024 7:05 am PST by
Amazon today has knocked the price off of multiple M3 MacBook Air models, with as much as $300 off select computers. Prices start at $849.00 for the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air (16GB RAM/256GB), and also include multiple 15-inch models as well. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site ...

Top Rated Comments

tann Avatar
73 months ago
Speaking as a consumer this platform exclusivity is sad.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AZREOSpecialist Avatar
73 months ago
If a company is using their money and resources to bolster their platform I do t have any problem with it.
You only say that because you use the platform in question. Have some empathy.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ButteryScrollin Avatar
73 months ago
looking forward to Apple Arcade, looks great.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Remy149 Avatar
73 months ago
Speaking as a consumer this platform exclusivity is sad.
If a company is using their money and resources to bolster their platform I do t have any problem with it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
73 months ago
You only say that because you use the platform in question. Have some empathy.
No, I'm pretty sure he was saying it like he said it. No other company is going to do this. Microsoft isn't going to give you a few million bucks to develop a game and then let you publish it for Sony. If the companies want the money and want to be featured in the service and get a cut of the service revenue then they need to play by the rules. Apple is doing this to help produce good content that will hopefully replace the freemium garbage that is running rampant in the App Store. They're doing this to clean up their platform and the mess they created with IAPs all those years ago. I doubt this will really change their revenue much because it will just take away from freemium games where they already get a cut of the revenue. Google is free to produce something similar. Heck, even someone like Valve or similar could build a service like this for Android and I bet they probably will at some point. It's all fair game. Some of these smaller studios wouldn't even be making these games without this funding shot in the arm.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Madmic23 Avatar
73 months ago
While the report claims games on Apple Arcade will not be available on Android or through other subscription-based gaming services, it says developers will be permitted to release their games on PCs or other games consoles such as the Nintendo Switch or PlayStation after a few months of exclusivity.
Keeping the games off Android sounds like a bad idea. That means popular multi platform games likely won't show up in Apple Arcade.

Can you imagine if Rovio had to choose between having Angry Birds on everything, or just putting it in Apple Arcade?

It's nice to see that they're not trying to force developers to abandon real consoles. But they shouldn't try to keep the games off Android. The marketing should be "Play games on Apple Arcade because it's better (no ads, no in-app purchases)." Not "Play games on Apple Arcade because we won't let developers publish games on Android."
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)