Apple Arcade
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 4 game subscription services by recommenders
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.
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.
32 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 69%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
No ads or microtransactions in games
“I pay $10/month for Apple Arcade in order to get mobile games with no ads and no addictive behavior model.”
Comment from 15 Aug 2026 in “OpenAI rolling out ads for Europe later this month” “it is the best way to have games that my kid can play without shady ads or engagement practices”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” “Apple Arcade is way better than the baseline of aggressive ads and micro transactions.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” - Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams”
- Comment from 19 Jan 2026 in “Apple testing new App Store design that blurs the line between ads and results”
- Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Vienam Bans Unskippable Ads, Requires Skip Button to Appear After 5 Seconds”
- Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “Ask HN: Sane casual family co-op game on mobile?”
- Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Vienam Bans Unskippable Ads, Requires Skip Button to Appear After 5 Seconds”
Safe games that suit kids
“Apple Arcade is pretty good, I imagine it's good for parents that want to make sure their kids are playing actually decent games”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” “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.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” “it is the best way to have games that my kid can play without shady ads or engagement practices”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” - Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27”
Avoids gambling and pushy mechanics
“It's a way to get games that aren't going to immediately ask for other games to be bought”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” “Apple Arcade is a pretty quick and easy way to avoid games with gambling in them.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “All of Apple's services are abysmal” “they also play games with non gambling mechanics”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “TIL: Parental Controls Aren't for Parents” Included with Apple One subscription
“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.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” “the games are all included with Apple+ and don't have any ads or microtransactions”
Comment from 19 Jan 2026 in “Apple testing new App Store design that blurs the line between ads and results” “On the service I’m already paying for.”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “Apple's Slide Down the Advertising Slippery Slope”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poor value and unclear purpose
“What is Arcade, am I supposed to be paying for it?”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety” “I’ve not found any reason I’d want to use it.”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “New Apple TV 4K” “Arcade is comically poor value.”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “I Now Assume That All Ads on Apple News Are Scams” Pushy subscription prompts and badges
“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."”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)” “Now only if I could have made the badge for Apple Arcade to go away by trying the free trial and canceling it!”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “I don't like passkeys” “how many damn times do I have to say no to Apple Arcade”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “Apple announces changes for apps in the European Union” Slow, laggy interface
“The Arcade video, taking several seconds to load a few low resolution images, causes me pain.”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance” “Done well as in: laggy, non-performant, break OS conventions”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance”
Other game subscription services people recommend
The three most recommended other game subscription services, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox Game Pass | 28 | 78 | 26% | 10 | 4 yrs5 owners | — |
| Apple ArcadeThis page | 22 | 10 | 69% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Meta Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp subscriptions | 7 | 44 | 14% | 2 | — | — |
| Nintendo Switch Online | 6 | 7 | 46% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
34 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I’ve not found any reason I’d want to use it.”
“one of the best games on the service, in my opinion”
“I don't want Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple maps”
“Now only if I could have made the badge for Apple Arcade to go away by trying the free trial and canceling it!”
“It's been plenty enough to keep my kid occupied”
“how many damn times do I have to say no to Apple Arcade”
“I pay $10/month for Apple Arcade in order to get mobile games with no ads and no addictive behavior model.”
“explicitly ban ads and microtransactions across their entire catalogs”
“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."”
“On the service I’m already paying for.”
“Apple Arcade is the only sanctuary.”
“What is Arcade, am I supposed to be paying for it?”
“I like Apple Arcade because it has non-shittified versions of classic games”
“Games has decent games without IAP”
“There are Triple A games on Arcade”
“Apple Arcade is pretty good, I imagine it's good for parents that want to make sure their kids are playing actually decent games”
“it is the best way to have games that my kid can play without shady ads or engagement practices”
“Arcade probably does need to have more games added and more attention paid to it”
“The lack of microtransaction/loot box/forced ads/etc driven gameplay is why I keep it.”
“It's a way to get games that aren't going to immediately ask for other games to be bought”
“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.”
“Apple Arcade is way better than the baseline of aggressive ads and micro transactions.”
“Arcade is comically poor value.”
“None of these are of any quality of what Apple used to be.”
“the games are all included with Apple+ and don't have any ads or microtransactions”
“they do not care about the user anymore”
“All games included in Arcade are ad free. They have a big enough collection.”
“These games aren't allowed to have any ads or in-app purchase.”
“Apple Arcade is a pretty quick and easy way to avoid games with gambling in them.”
“they also play games with non gambling mechanics”
“push notifications everywhere”
“I can't even remember the last time I could be bothered to scroll that”
“The Arcade video, taking several seconds to load a few low resolution images, causes me pain.”
“Done well as in: laggy, non-performant, break OS conventions”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.