Apple Arcade "likely wouldn’t be profitable" without Apple One bundle, report claims

Apple Arcade reportedly "likely wouldn’t be profitable" without bundle subscription service Apple One, according to The Information.

A person with direct knowledge of Apple figures informed the outlet that Apple Arcade reached two million users in its first year, though approximately 25% of those users were on a free trial.

Even today, more than five years after the service launched, Apple Arcade would allegedly be unlikely to break even on its own.

The superior subscription?

Apple Arcade launched with 71 games on September 19th, 2019 as a subscription service for titles without in-app purchases or ads. A number of these games otherwise do feature their own monetisation models.

At $6.99 per month, the service has become something of a hub for more classic mobile game franchises with the likes of Doodle Jump 2+ and Cut the Rope 3, but it also has its own big exclusives like Sonic Dream Team.

Apple Arcade now has more than 200 games that can be played across Apple devices, but apparently, most iOS owners still don’t buy into the service exclusively.

Rather, the combination bundle Apple One is more popular, having launched one year later on October 30th, 2020. This bundle includes Apple Arcade at every level while also offering a suite of other services like iCloud+, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+ and Apple News+. Its starting price of $19.95 per month is less than three times that of Apple Arcade alone.

"Without Apple One, some services, such as Apple Arcade and Fitness+, likely wouldn’t be profitable," The Information reported.

The report also suggested that Apple TV+ is losing $1 billion per year.