Apple Arcade Is About To Lose A Bunch Of Games
Although the subscription business model is basically the standard for videos and music these days, it hasn't taken the gaming industry by storm yet. That's especially true on mobile, where the quality of games and their prices made paying a monthly fee seem absurd. That's why Apple Arcade was a rather bold and risky move, even for the company — and, for a time, it seemed to be quite successful. But as with many streaming services, especially video platforms, titles come and go, sometimes silently. Following a practice set by Netflix, Apple now seems to be publicly listing games that will be leaving its subscription service, raising a few questions about what happens when an Apple Arcade title is removed.
It doesn't really have to be the case, but it has become common practice for videos and now games to leave certain platforms after a period of time. This could happen due to a license agreement or a period of exclusivity expiring. On the one hand, this means a game or video could then be made available on other platforms and reach wider audiences. On the other hand, sometimes they just disappear completely.
Apple Arcade has also said goodbye to some exclusive titles in the past, but generally speaking, only one or two games have left at a time. That isn't the case this time around, however, as Apple has added a new Leaving Soon tab to Arcade that gives subscribers a heads up about titles that will be removed in the near future. Based on that section, it looks like as many as 15 titles will be pulled, possibly all at once (via TouchArcade).
New Apple Arcade section raises some big questions
The new Leaving Arcade Soon tab includes titles like "Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree," "BattleSky Brigade: Harpooner," "Cardpocalypse," "Dead End Job," "Don't Bug Me!," "Dread Nautical," "EarthNight," "Explottens," and more. So far, Apple hasn't provided any word on when these titles will leave and if they will disappear all at once. There might be a new support document or an announcement coming soon, but as things stand now, there is complete silence on that front.
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There are, however, even bigger questions regarding these and future games that will be exiting the service. Will these titles be available in the App Store for full purchase or will they simply be gone forever? If they are going to be sold on their own later on, will game save data be restored or will that info also be gone for good? Although games have left Apple Arcade before, this is the first time such a large number have been listed, so, naturally, there are concerns about the future of the titles.
The availability of games after Apple Arcade might boil down to a case-by-case basis, but it would be good if Apple offered some guidance on how it will handle the transition. Better yet, perhaps it could even offer discounts to subscribers who want to purchase the full game, similar to what Xbox does. There are definitely many questions that need to be addressed, especially regarding the overall future of Apple Arcade, and subscribers might want to keep an eye on what could be the start of big changes to the service.