# Apple Arcade 22 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple Arcade and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** People recommend it for ad-free, microtransaction-free games that suit kids, bundled with Apple One. Critics say it needs more games and is poor value. ## Why people recommend it - No ads or microtransactions in games (8 comments): "I pay $10/month for Apple Arcade in order to get mobile games with no ads and no addictive behavior model." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49311859)) "it is the best way to have games that my kid can play without shady ads or engagement practices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913992)) "Apple Arcade is way better than the baseline of aggressive ads and micro transactions." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913055)) - Safe games that suit kids (4 comments): "Apple Arcade is pretty good, I imagine it's good for parents that want to make sure their kids are playing actually decent games" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46914504)) "Arcade is amazing for my kids, it's the one thing that pushes the value of Apple One bundle high enough for me to pay it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913298)) "it is the best way to have games that my kid can play without shady ads or engagement practices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913992)) - Avoids gambling and pushy mechanics (3 comments): "It's a way to get games that aren't going to immediately ask for other games to be bought" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913307)) "Apple Arcade is a pretty quick and easy way to avoid games with gambling in them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46505505)) "they also play games with non gambling mechanics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46466274)) - Included with Apple One subscription (3 comments): "Arcade is amazing for my kids, it's the one thing that pushes the value of Apple One bundle high enough for me to pay it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913298)) "the games are all included with Apple+ and don't have any ads or microtransactions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46682253)) "On the service I’m already paying for." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48852195)) ## What people warn about - Poor value and unclear purpose (3 comments): "What is Arcade, am I supposed to be paying for it?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47452688)) "I’ve not found any reason I’d want to use it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50082923)) "Arcade is comically poor value." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46912982)) - Pushy subscription prompts and badges (3 comments): "I had to subscribe to Apple Arcade and cancel right away to make the (1) badge go away on a feature that insults me as a "gamer."" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48907266)) "Now only if I could have made the badge for Apple Arcade to go away by trying the free trial and canceling it!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49757203)) "how many damn times do I have to say no to Apple Arcade" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49361429)) - Slow, laggy interface (2 comments): "The Arcade video, taking several seconds to load a few low resolution images, causes me pain." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45855596)) "Done well as in: laggy, non-performant, break OS conventions" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45855527)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Xbox Game Pass](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox-game-pass.md): 28 recommend - [Nintendo Switch Online](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nintendo-switch-online.md): 6 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.apple.com/apple-arcade/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Apple Arcade", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-arcade/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).