Apple Arcade to Gain NFL Retro Bowl '25, Monster Train+, and Puzzle Sculpt

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The Apple Arcade gaming service is set to gain three new games in September, including NFL Retro Bowl '25, an NFL and NFLPA-licensed relaunch of the popular Retro Bowl game that initially came out in 2020.

apple arcade retro bowl
NFL Retro Bowl '25 lets NFL fans create their own football dynasty by selecting their favorite NFL teams and players to manage. The game focuses on roster management and game strategies, with the ‌Apple Arcade‌ version offering authentic rosters and NFL players in the original game's retro style.

Monster Train+ is another ‌Apple Arcade‌ revamp of a popular original. It is a roguelite deck builder with more than 250 cards to unlock and six monster clans to discover. The ‌Apple Arcade‌ version of the game includes a new strategic layer with three vertical playing fields to defend, along with support for The Last Divinity DLC with an additional clan and more gameplay challenges.

For the Apple Vision Pro, ‌Apple Arcade‌ is gaining Puzzle Sculpt, a game where players decipher increasingly challenging clues to solve puzzles. Gameplay consists of removing unnecessary cubes to uncover Deco Objects that can then be placed anywhere in the virtual space around the player.

Several ‌Apple Arcade‌ games are set to get new content updates, including new Shrek-themed hoops for Stitch, a Smithsonian-inspired area in Crayola Create and Play, and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog for Disney Dreamlight Valley.

‌Apple Arcade‌ is priced at $6.99 per month, a fee that allows up to six family members to play games. ‌Apple Arcade‌ titles have no in-app purchases or ads. ‌Apple Arcade‌ is also part of the Apple One, Family, and Premier plans.

Tag: Apple Arcade Guide

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Top Rated Comments

Simmias Avatar
Simmias
9 months ago
It’s time to take Apple Arcade off life support.

We‘ve had enough puzzle games.
We’ve had enough recycled mobile games.
We’ve had enough crude pixel art games.

Bring higher quality, or shut it down.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Circa1984 Avatar
Circa1984
9 months ago
I wish Apple would let you choose within the One subscription, I’d probably go with News over Arcade.

I like to game once in a while, but the current Arcade games I’m not very interested in - It would be a pleasant surprise if they made a dozen or so of the most popular console games for Apple Arcade - I’m not suggesting 2024 AAA titles but maybe a reboot of top rated games from a few years back, that phone/ipad and Apple TV hardware could handle & that have wide appeal to a ‘gamer audience’.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BugHunter Avatar
BugHunter
9 months ago
People are so harsh on Apple Arcade, I think the games they offer there are fine, with a few gems to make it worthwhile, and a few bits of Pay to Win mobile games with the Pay to Win removed exposing how un-fun the games that rely on FOMO are.

All that said, I would imagine the primary target audience of Apple Arcade is parents who don't want to have to constantly tell their children that no, they can't buy $99 worth of magic crystal gems even if it is "BEST VALUE".

I'm sure people will reply to that with "maybe they should try parenting" - but I'd say giving your child a gaming experience that's not infested with addiction and gamble mechanics - is parenting. Yeah, have your kids do sports and other activities as well, but sometimes parents just need a break when they're at a cafe with their bored kid.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Velli Avatar
Velli
9 months ago

True. I doubt Apple Arcade was ever targeted to serious gamers. It’s a sandbox for mobile gaming with protections. I enjoyed me last free trail, just don’t see much value in paying for subscription.
So-called “Serious gamers” are in general a bunch of arrogant wankers who can’t see beyond their nosetip. Casual gamers are big business. Maybe, perhaps, if you are doing it professionally, gaming is by definition not “serious”. Stop kidding yourselves.

I probably spend a few hours per day gaming, but rarely more than 15 minutes at a time. I simply don’t have X hours set aside by myself to do a “gaming session”. But, I loathe P2W, and will happily pay significant money to avoid ads. I am very happy with Apple Arcade, and I have spent more hours using Apple Arcade games than I care to think about.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MasterControlProgram Avatar
MasterControlProgram
9 months ago

Name a AAA game that “serious gamers” typically play on their phone.
It depends when we're talking about. We used to get interesting stuff like Bioshock, Ridge Racer, Soul Calibur, GTA Vice City, Deus Ex, Max Payne, etc on iOS. The trouble is, Apple kept breaking old games with iOS updates, I believe Bioshock lasted about 4 months before it stopped working and the developer didn't bother to fix it.

The trouble with mobile gaming is the race to the bottom that made F2P so prevalent, no-one is willing to pay for games anymore. Aside from the odd developer dipping their toe (like Capcom with their current RE ports) we never seem to get a consistent stream of decent games because anything more expensive than free gets ignored by the majority. I used to game on iOS all the time, but slowly but surely the choices have dwindled to nothing. The Switch and the Steam Deck have pretty much replaced my iOS devices for gaming now.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Velli Avatar
Velli
9 months ago

People are so harsh on Apple Arcade, I think the games they offer there are fine, with a few gems to make it worthwhile, and a few bits of Pay to Win mobile games with the Pay to Win removed exposing how un-fun the games that rely on FOMO are.

All that said, I would imagine the primary target audience of Apple Arcade is parents who don't want to have to constantly tell their children that no, they can't buy $99 worth of magic crystal gems even if it is "BEST VALUE".

I'm sure people will reply to that with "maybe they should try parenting" - but I'd say giving your child a gaming experience that's not infested with addiction and gamble mechanics - is parenting. Yeah, have your kids do sports and other activities as well, but sometimes parents just need a break when they're at a cafe with their bored kid.
100% agree. And yes, I pay for a family subscription to Youtube that I rarely use myself, only to avoid my kids being subjected to ads 25% of their screen time (and yes, we have exactly zero ad-supported TV channels or services available in my household).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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