Apple Arcade Games Reportedly Permitted on Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch After Brief Exclusivity - MacRumors
Skip to Content

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

iOS App Store General Feature Clorange

Apple's App Store Chief Explains Its Push for Premium Games

Tuesday October 20, 2026 8:58 pm PDT by
More premium games are launching on the App Store this year than last, Apple's App Store Worldwide head Carson Oliver told Polygon, including more franchises coming from PC and consoles. Oliver said: We've seen incredible growth of games coming to the App Store, in general, with more premium games releasing on the App Store this year than last. While many of those are indies, we're also...
Crossy Road Rush

'Crossy Road Rush' Launching Exclusively on Apple Arcade in November

Tuesday October 6, 2026 9:46 am PDT by
Apple today announced that the all-new "Crossy Road" spinoff game "Crossy Road Rush" will be launching exclusively on Apple Arcade on Thursday, November 5. Crossy Road Rush has players "swerve, jump, and smash their way across an island obstacle course packed with quick-fire challenges and hazards at every turn," according to Apple. Also coming to Apple Arcade on November 5 are existing App...
apple pro tell logo

Apple Launching Five New Products This Friday

Monday November 2, 2026 1:22 am PST by
Apple is releasing five new products this Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models. The following new products will be available from Friday: iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip iMac with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip 14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen 16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...

Top Rated Comments

99 months ago
Speaking as a consumer this platform exclusivity is sad.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AZREOSpecialist Avatar
99 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)
99 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)
99 months ago
looking forward to Apple Arcade, looks great.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
99 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
99 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)
Latest Stories
Apple Requiring Developers to Disclose Location Sharing and Dating Features in Apps
Apple Requiring Developers to Disclose Location Sharing and Dating Features in Apps
6 hours ago
Apple's Q4 2026 Earnings Call Takeaways
Apple's Q4 2026 Earnings Call Takeaways
7 hours ago
Apple Dodges Question on More Price Hikes as Memory Costs Climb
Apple Dodges Question on More Price Hikes as Memory Costs Climb
7 hours ago
Apple CEO Ternus Says iPhone Duo Shortages Have No End Date in Sight
Apple CEO Ternus Says iPhone Duo Shortages Have No End Date in Sight
9 hours ago
Apple Reports 4Q 2026 Results: $30.7B Profit on $114.5B Revenue
Apple Reports 4Q 2026 Results: $30.7B Profit on $114.5B Revenue
9 hours ago
Early Black Friday Brings Steep Price Drops on Apple's Latest iPhone Cases
Early Black Friday Brings Steep Price Drops on Apple's Latest iPhone Cases
12 hours ago
John Ternus Hosting His First Earnings Call as Apple CEO Today
John Ternus Hosting His First Earnings Call as Apple CEO Today
14 hours ago
Here's What Spotify Looks Like on Apple's HomeView
Here's What Spotify Looks Like on Apple's HomeView
14 hours ago
iOS 27.2.1 Coming Soon, iOS 27.3 Beta Likely Available Tomorrow
iOS 27.2.1 Coming Soon, iOS 27.3 Beta Likely Available Tomorrow
15 hours ago
Mark Gurman: Apple Initially Aimed to Release iPhone Duo in November
Mark Gurman: Apple Initially Aimed to Release iPhone Duo in November
15 hours ago
Best Early Black Friday Deals on Apple Products Available Now
Best Early Black Friday Deals on Apple Products Available Now
16 hours ago
Apple Isn't Done With 2026: Here's What's Still Coming
Apple Isn't Done With 2026: Here's What's Still Coming
16 hours ago
Apple 'HomeView Ultra' With 9-Inch 360º Screen Detailed in New Report
Apple 'HomeView Ultra' With 9-Inch 360º Screen Detailed in New Report
16 hours ago
Apple TV 4K Pre-Order Discount Returns at Amazon
Apple TV 4K Pre-Order Discount Returns at Amazon
16 hours ago
Zoom and These Microsoft Apps Now Optimized for iPhone Duo
Zoom and These Microsoft Apps Now Optimized for iPhone Duo
17 hours ago
Canva Brings Free All-in-One Affinity App to iPad
Canva Brings Free All-in-One Affinity App to iPad
17 hours ago
iPhone Duo: Latest Buyer Wait Times
iPhone Duo: Latest Buyer Wait Times
19 hours ago
iPhone Duo Owners Can't Change Display Zoom After Setup
iPhone Duo Owners Can't Change Display Zoom After Setup
15 hours ago
Apple HomeView Could Double as a Security Camera
Apple HomeView Could Double as a Security Camera
21 hours ago
Apple Launching Five New Products This Friday
Apple Launching Five New Products This Friday
22 hours ago
Nearly Every M5 MacBook Air Now $200 Off on Amazon
Nearly Every M5 MacBook Air Now $200 Off on Amazon
2 days ago
Apple's HomeView Ships With Six-Month-Old Software
Apple's HomeView Ships With Six-Month-Old Software
2 days ago
Three New iPads Rumored to Launch in First Half of 2027
Three New iPads Rumored to Launch in First Half of 2027
2 days ago
Apple Offers Steps to Fix Daylight Saving Time Bug on Apple Watch
Apple Offers Steps to Fix Daylight Saving Time Bug on Apple Watch
2 days ago
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Hits All-Time Low Price With Amazon's $99 Discount
3 days ago
Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today
Reminder: Apple's Big Discount on Beats 360 Ear Cushions Ends Today
3 days ago
Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software
Here's a New Tour of Apple's HomeView Software
3 days ago
Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity
Apple Reveals New iPad Mini's Battery Capacity
3 days ago
Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates
Top Stories: Apple's Big MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iMac Updates
3 days ago
'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today
'Pluribus' Season 2 Reportedly Starts Production Today
3 days ago