Apple opens Apple Arcade early access program
- aug
- 17
Image Credit: 9to5Mac
Apple employees get to experience the subscription gaming service right now.
Apple Arcade is headed to an iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV near you this fall. We have no idea what day it'll launch or how much it'll cost, but we're finding out today that Apple has opened up an early access program, but it's not for everyone. Apple employees are the only ones invited to the beta testing program and 9to5Mac has a contact on the inside (lucky devils).
In this early access phases, according to 9to5Mac, includes a small subscription price of $0.49 per month with a one-month free trial to start (this is almost definitely not the final price of a subscription to Apple Arcade). The trial is set to end "with the launch of iOS 13."
9to5Mac, with access to Apple Arcade on Mac, explains the process of signing up for the free one-month trial and temporary monthly subscription price, and then goes on to explain what Apple Arcade looks like on the Mac.
After the subscription is confirmed and the trial starts, a new page shows up with featured games. To download a game, it's as easy as clicking the "Get" button, just like downloading a free app or game from the App Store. The game's product highlights a big artwork with a small section for the game's title and tagline, with the download button easily accessible. Scrolling down reveals a bar with information such as the age rating, category and size of the game, the rest of the page is similar to any regular App Store product page.
We're only about a month away from iOS 13 (rumored to launch mid-September), at which point, we'll all be able to experience Apple Arcade. Whether it starts with a free one-month trial is yet to be seen, but it's likely Apple will offer some amount of time in a free trial.
Apple is expected to host an iPhone event on September 10 and traditionally rolls out the update to iOS and tvOS either the same day or by the end of that week. macOS updates are sometimes postponed for a week or more.
