One of the most exciting things about Apple Arcade is that consumers have access to an ever-evolving platform of games – but that does mean that your favourites might disappear from time to time.
In August, Apple added four new games to the service, each a sequel to or remix of some of the App Store’s most-downloaded and celebrated titles. Amazing Bomberman, My Talking Tom+, Jetpack Joyride 2, and Love You to Bits+ were added to the platform throughout the month, adhering to the company’s one new game per week quota. For gamers who want to see upcoming Apple Arcade titles on the App Store, they need to head to the “Arcade” tab in the App Store, then scroll down and choose “See All Games.” On the “All Games” screen, they can filter the list by release date and toggle on the switch labeled “Coming Soon” to find upcoming games.
Why are games removed from Apple Arcade?
Apple says that games might sometimes leave Apple Arcade on its support pages. If you download a game before it leaves Arcade, you can play the game for at least two weeks after. If you try to launch an Arcade game that is no longer playable, you receive a No Longer Available message.”
This statement has caused controversy in the technology world: if someone has invested dozens or even hundreds of hours into a game, why should they lose access to it? “After a game leaves Arcade, the game developer might choose to make their game available on the App Store,” Apple said in a statement.
“These games might vary from the Arcade version. Suppose the developer makes their game available on the App Store and allows you to load your saved progress. In that case, you can pick up where you left off in the Arcade version,” the company added, confirming that the post-Arcade experience was down to whether developers wanted to honor the player’s time and commitment.
Since this first announcement, several titles have disappeared from Arcade, including Spelldrifter, Projection: First Light, Lifeslide, EarthNight, Cardpocalypse, and Dead End Job. According to one report from MacRumors, Apple signed three-year deals with developers during the launch of the platform, and some of these contracts are apparently nearing expiry and not being renewed. Rather than take on a new contract with Apple, many of these developers now want to put their games out into the wider world to see how they perform.
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