While Apple made a lot of announcements at its “It’s show time” event last week, many details remain unclear. Apple Arcade is the company’s foray into game subscriptions, but the biggest question about the service is how much it will cost users every month.
Apple says that Apple Arcade will bundle over 100 new and exclusive games. This means that users will be able to get access to a collection of games for a single monthly payment. All of the games will be ad-free and will not include any in-app purchases.
Further, Apple is said to be subsidizing development costs for the games included in the Apple Arcade subscription. The goal, theoretically, is to foster the creation of games that otherwise wouldn’t have been made without Apple Arcade. This is likely how Apple has inked deals with the likes of Disney, Gameloft, SEGA, LEGO, and Konami for the bundle.
The games included in Apple Arcade will also not be available outside of the bundle. Thus, if you see a game in the bundle that strikes your interest, you’ll have to subscribe to the monthly payment to access it.
What will Apple Arcade cost?
One of the most interesting things about Apple Arcade is that Family Sharing access included by default. Where as Apple Music costs $9.99 for an individual plan and $14.99 for family access, Apple Arcade will offer a single price point that includes access for the whole family.
There’s something to be said for getting the cost of Apple Arcade below $10 per month. In the age of subscription fatigue, consumers are more aware than ever of how quickly monthly payments can add up. Apple also has to pay developers who create the games included in Apple Arcade. Developers are said to be paid based on the time users spend playing their game in the bundle.
Personally, I’d love to see Apple arcade priced at $9.99 per month, but I’d be willing to pay anything under $15 per month. I’m not a huge gamer, but the cross-platform nature of Apple Arcade appeals to me, as does the idea of having a curated collection of games. The size of the App Store can make it hard to discover new, high quality games, but ideally Apple Arcade will help solve that problem.
What about you? What do you think Apple Arcade will cost per month? How much are you willing to pay? Take the polls below and elaborate on your responses down in the comments.
