Wow, Apple Arcade is looking like a great value this holiday season — even with the recent price hike. Today, Apple announced its holiday lineup for Apple Arcade. The company is launching eight new titles on the game subscription service throughout November and December. Alex Rofman, Apple’s senior director of Apple Arcade, said that the holiday launch will mean that the company has released almost 60 games on the service in 2023 alone.
“We’ve added nearly 60 new games to Apple Arcade this year, and subscribers and their families have been loving the breadth and depth of the catalog with hits like Hello Kitty Island Adventure, NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition, TMNT Splintered Fate, Cypher 007, and so many others. To wrap up a great year of new games for Arcade players, we’ve saved some of the best for last and will be launching Football Manager 2024 Touch, Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition, Sonic Dream Team, and Puzzle & Dragons Story.
Apple says that it is also launching new content on over 50 existing titles on the service over the next couple of months, including updates to Hello Kitty Island Adventure, NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition, Sneaky Sasquatch, Cut the Rope 3, Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go; Japanese Rural Life Adventure, and The Oregon Trail.
You can check out all of the games coming to Apple Arcade this holiday season below:
Knotwords+ (Zach Gage): November 3
Knotwords+ comes from indie game developer Zach Gage, the developer behind Card of Darkness, Good Sudoku+, and Flipflop Solitaire+.
Knotwords+ is a minimal and elegant logic puzzle with words. The rules are simple: Arrange the letters in each section so every word is complete, horizontally and vertically. Each puzzle may seem difficult at first, but gets easier as the player progresses, with each step guiding them naturally toward the solution.
Football Manager 2024 Touch (SEGA & Sports Interactive): November 6
With the new version of Football Manager 2024, Apple says that players get a new Save Game Compatibility feature that will allow “all existing Football Manager 2023 Touch players on Apple Arcade will be able to continue their careers in Football Manager 2024 Touch.”
New for this season, players can improve their performance with enhanced training; impact the action at both ends of the pitch with a refreshed Set Piece Creator powered by their backroom team; define the type of boss they want to be with new Manager Principles; make their voice heard with a new system for making requests to their owners; and have the best possible experience on iPhone with a new skin for smaller devices to help provide smoother navigation across the game. Progress never stops, with players being able to look forward to new tools that will empower them to elevate their team’s performance and shape a title-winning culture on the football world stage.
Downwell+ (Devolver Digital): November 17
Downwell+ is a “curious game about a young boy venturing down a well in search of untold treasures with only his gunboots to protect him.”
Designed for mobile from the ground up, Downwell+ is presented with intuitive and elegant controls that allow for action-packed gameplay using just three buttons. Players make their way down into the darkness filled with creepy creatures and mysterious secrets to collect the spectacular red gems scattered about the rocks. Step into precariously placed shops and buy some helpful items, or level up between levels to battle well-dwelling monsters and uncover hidden caves filled with riches and relics. With procedurally generated levels, no two trips down the well are ever the same.
Delicious – Miracle of Life+ (GameHouse): November 24
Delicious – Miracle of Life is described as a time management cooking game that “invites players to join expectant mother Emily and her growing family as she navigates the challenges of pregnancy, while managing a bustling kitchen for her cooking video blog and preparing for the arrival of her new baby.”
With 60 engaging levels and 30 bonus challenges, players will immerse themselves in Emily’s world, exploring various locations and meeting a charming cast of characters. Design the perfect nursery, share in Emily’s ups and downs, and experience the miracle of life.
Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition (Gameloft): December 5
Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition is also debuting on Apple Arcade, a huge value since Disney recently announced that the base console game would be $39.99.
Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition also includes the expansion pass, Disney Dreamlight Valley: A Rift In Time, which includes a new storyline with secrets and treasures to uncover that have been lost in time. On Eternity Isle, a land far away from Dreamlight Valley, players will meet new Disney and Pixar friends and yield the power of a mysterious royal tool — the Hourglass — as they unravel the schemes of the nefarious Jafar.
Sonic Dream Team (SEGA): December 5
The company also announced Sonic Dream Team, a completely new Sonic game from SEGA, is coming exclusively to Apple Arcade.
The thrilling new 3D action platformer follows the evil Doctor Eggman who has discovered The Reverie — an ancient device with the power to manifest dreams in the real world. Join Sonic and friends as they navigate twisted dreamscapes, rescue their friends, and put a stop to Doctor Eggman’s quest for world domination. In the game, players will take command of six dynamic playable characters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Cream, and Rouge, each with unique abilities that match their own flair and personality.
Puzzle & Dragons Story (GungHo Online Entertainment): December 5
According to the press release, “the newest installment in the immensely popular and definitive puzzle RPG series takes players on a new epic fantasy adventure with Puzzle & Dragons Story, exclusively on Apple Arcade.”
The game combines match-three puzzles with creature-collecting RPG gameplay, where players will recruit allies, improve their teams, and conquer dungeons. Intuitive puzzle play will be familiar to fans but also draw in newcomers as they simply match orbs of the same color vertically or horizontally, chaining together exhilarating combos for higher awards. Matching and erasing orbs commands the player’s allies to attack enemy creatures, with skilled puzzle play and exhilarating combos that unleash even more powerful attacks. Players will also gather materials by defeating creatures in dungeons, allowing them to create and improve new allied team members. They’ll spend resources to improve their creatures and select their favorites to form unique teams. New dungeons and creatures will be added frequently as players further explore a vast and mysterious land.
Turmoil+ (Gamious): December 5
In Turmoil, gamers get to experience “a visually charming, tongue-in-cheek take on the simulation game genre inspired by the 19th-century oil rush in North America.”
As aspiring oil entrepreneurs, players must navigate cutthroat competition, strategically lease land, drill for oil, and maximize profits through shrewd business deals. With a rich campaign mode, a town full of colorful characters, dozens of upgrades, and procedurally generated levels, Turmoil+ is a wild ride through the oil boom era.
