Apple Arcade now available in Canada — here’s everything you need to know

Apple has officially launched Apple Arcade in Canada as part of iOS 13.

There’s a lot going on with the on-demand gaming subscription service, so here’s a full breakdown of what Canadians should know about it.

Platforms

The subscription service offers unlimited access to dozens of mobile games that can be played across devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Moreover, Apple says it will not collect data while you are playing without your consent.

It’s important to note, however, that not all of these devices are supported at this time. Currently, Apple Arcade can only be played on the iPhone and iPod Touch devices that have iOS 13.

Apple Arcade will roll out on iPad and Apple TV on September 30th as part of iPadOS 13 and tvOS 13, respectively. Later, the service will be included in macOS Catalina when it launches in October.

Across all platforms, Apple Arcade will be accessible via a new ‘Arcade’ tab in the App Store.

Price

The service will cost $5.99 CAD/month and include access to games across Apple’s four platforms.

Moreover, Apple Arcade features ‘Family Sharing’ to allow up to six users to use the same account. You’ll also be able to take advantage of a free one-month trial of Apple Arcade before paying.

As part of your subscription, Apple Arcade titles will not feature any of the ads or in-game purchases that mobile games have become known for.

Games

Naturally, the most important part of Apple Arcade is its games lineup. At launch, the service offers just over 50 games, with Apple promising more than 100 overall as additional titles roll out over the coming weeks.

Further, Apple says each Arcade game will be mobile-exclusive. In other words, this means that they won’t appear on Google’s Play Store rival app marketplace.

That said, this requirement from Apple doesn’t preclude games from appearing on platforms beyond the mobile ecosystem. For example, publisher Annapurna Interactive’s Sayonara Wild Hearts rhythm game has also launched on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Here’s the full list of Apple Arcade launch titles:

• Agent Intercept (PikPok)
• Assemble With Care (usTwo)
• Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree (Wildboy Studios)
• Big Time Sports (Frosty Pop)
• Bleak Sword (Devolver Digital)
• Card of Darkness (Zach Gage)
• Cat Quest II (The Gentlebros)
• Cricket Through the Ages (Devolver Digital)
• Dead End Job (Headup)
• Dear Reader (Local No. 12)
• Dodo Peak (Moving Pieces)
• Don’t Bug Me! (Frosty Pop)
• Dread Nautical (Zen Studios)
• The Enchanted World (Noodlecake Studios)
• Exit the Gungeon (Devolver Digital)
• Explottens (Werplay Priv.)
• Frogger in Toy Town (Konami)
• The Get Out Kids (Frosty Pop)
• Grindstone (Capybara Games)
• Hot Lava (Klei Entertainment)
• King’s League II (Kurechii)
• Lego Brawls (Lego)
• Lifeslide (Block Zero Games)
• Mini Motorways (Dinosaur Polo Club)
• Mutazione (Die Gute Fabrik)
• Neo Cab (Surprise Attack Games)
• Oceanhorn 2 (Cornfox & Bros)
• Operator 41 (Shifty Eye Games)
• Over the Alps (Stave Studios)
• Overland (Finji)
• Patterned (Borderleap)
• The Pinball Wizard (Frosty Pop)
• Projection: First Light (Blowfish Studios)
• Punch Planet (Block Zero Games)
• Rayman Mini (Ubisoft)
• Red Reign (Ninja Kiwi)
• Sayonara Wild Hearts (Annapurna Interactive)
• Shantae and the Seven Sirens (WayForward Technologies)
• Shinsekai Into the Depths (Capcom)
• Skate City (Snowman)
• Sneaky Sasquatch (RAC7 Games)
• Spaceland (Tortuga Team)
• Speed Demons (Radiangames)
• Spek. (Rac7 Games)
• Spelldrifter (Free Range Games)
• Stellar Commanders (Blindflug Studios)
• Tangle Tower (SFB Games)
• Tint. (Lykke Studios)
• Various Daylife (Square Enix)
• What the Golf? (The Label)
• Where Cards Fall (Snowman)
• Way of the Turtle (Illusion Labs)
• Word Laces (Minimega)

It’s worth noting that many of these games were made in Canada. Skate City and Where Cards Fall both come from Toronto-based Snowman, while Grindstone was developed by the Capybara Games, which is also in Toronto. Meanwhile, Sneaky Sasquatch and Spek. were made by RAC7 Games and Hot Lava by Klei Entertainment — both Vancouver-based studios. Finally, Saskatoon-based Noodlecake is responsible for The Enchanted World.

Check out MobileSyrup‘s recent hands-on impressions of some of these Canadian-made titles for more details.

Beyond that launch lineup, other titles in the works for Apple Arcade include the mysterious Fantasian from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, a new game from Spore creator Will Wright and Sonic Racing from Sega.

Accessories

It’s worth noting that certain games will feature support for controllers, such as the Xbox Wireless Controller, PlayStation DualShock 4 and MFi game controllers, on top of touch controls on iPhone and iPad and the Siri Remote on Apple TV.

To see which games support controllers, check a specific title’s game page in the Arcade tab of the App Store. From there, look underneath the app icon at the top of the page to find a banner containing important information about the game, such as its developer or which languages it supports. This section will also display a ‘Controller Supported’ icon for all eligible titles.

With all of that said, are you planning to get Apple Arcade? If so, which games are you looking to try out? Let us know in the comments.