Apple ‘spending $500 million on Apple Arcade exclusives’

Apple has reportedly committed to spending some $500 million on the first wave of games for its upcoming Apple Arcade subscription service.

Citing people involved in Apple Arcade’s development, the Financial Times reports that Apple is investing several million dollars each on most of the launch games.

Announcing Apple Arcade in March, Apple said the service will initially house over 100 “new and exclusive games” for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, with more titles set to be added regularly.

Rather than just curating the titles available, Apple said it’s “contributing to the development costs and working closely with creators to bring the games to life”.

These games won’t be available on any other mobile platform or in any other subscription service, it added, seemingly precluding their release on Google Play and Xbox Game Pass.

While the Financial Times report claims Apple is offering developers an extra incentive to launch their games exclusively on Apple Arcade, it notes that “after a few months of exclusivity, developers will be free to release their games on PCs or other games consoles”.

Apple Arcade games won’t feature advertisements or microtransactions and every title will be playable offline.

Users will be able to play titles across multiple devices, enabling them to start a game on one platform, then resume their game session on another.

Confirmed Apple Arcade titles include The Chinese Room’s Little Orpheus, Mistwalker’s Fantasian, Revolution Software’s Beyond a Steel Sky, Klei Entertainment’s Hot Lava, Lego Brawls, Sonic Racing, Frogger in Toy Town, and Giant Squid’s The Pathless.

Apple Arcade will also feature original games from Sims creator Will Wright and Florence studio Mountains.

Apple hasn’t yet said how much it will cost to subscribe to Apple Arcade.