Employees put Apple Arcade subscription gaming service through its paces

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Apple Arcade is something of a loot box for Apple.
Coming this fall.
Photo: Apple

Apple has kicked off internal testing of Apple Arcade, putting the upcoming subscription gaming service through its paces before it launches to the public.

For the preview, Apple employees can pay 49 cents for a one-month trial. That includes access to early builds of games including Way of the Turtle, Down in Bermuda and Hot Lava.

As part of the internal test, Apple employees get to play these new games early. In exchange, their experiences provide valuable feedback on the platform. It also seems likely feedback will be passed on to the the game developers.

That means that all involved will get to sort out any problems ahead of Apple Arcade’s public launch this fall.

A glimpse at the in-development Apple Arcade interface.
A glimpse at the in-development Apple Arcade interface.
Photo: 9to5Mac

An all-you-can-eat gaming experience

Apple unveiled Apple Arcade at its “It’s Show Time” media event earlier this year. The subscription gaming service which will give users “all-you-can-eat” access to exclusive titles. “We want to make gaming even better,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at the time.

The subscription will offer 100-plus new and exclusive games that will “raise the bar” on the gaming experience. These include titles created by renowned creators such as Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong and Will Wright. Companies on board include Lego, Sega, ustwo games, Snowman and many more. Apple supposedly spent upward of $500 million making Apple Arcade a reality.

The service should launch sometime this fall, although we don’t know an exact release date. Apple also has yet to reveal the pricing. Apple Arcade will offer games for iOS, Mac and Apple TV — with your game state jumping from device to device as you switch formats. You can also play Apple Arcade games offline.

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