In a recent letter penned by Senior Vice-president of Services at Apple, Eddy Cue has extolled a number of achievements by the tech-giant in apps and mobile.

The various services and subscriptions gaining plaudits include Apple Maps, Apple TV+ and their song-identifier Shazam. However, it also included prominent mention of Apple’s game subscription service, Apple Arcade, and the growth of its catalogue with 50 new games in 2022.

Out of the more than a dozen critical apps listed in Eddy cue’s letter, Apple Arcade came in second and was mentioned prominently at the start. Business outlet Forbes also pointed out how strong Apple is in terms of ongoing subscriptions.

Cue described thusly: “Apple Arcade continues to be a standout game subscription service featuring award-winning and highly rated titles, from new releases to beloved favourites from the App Store.”

Extolling Arcade

It’s unsurprising that Cue would want to push Apple’s success in any of its apps. However, it’s certainly interesting he wants to push Apple Arcade prominently. It suggests that aside from observations externally about its success, that internally it's also perceived extremely positively. It can also be attributed strongly to Apple Arcade forming part of the Apple One subscription, which also includes their TV, Fitness and News services amongst others.

Increasing the value proposition of a greater subscription with the addition of games is something that many mobile-based companies have pursued strongly. Netflix being one of them, although Apple benefits from much higher visibility of this section of its product. However, as we’ve previously pointed out, it also signals the increased dominance of game subscriptions on many platforms, chief amongst them being console and mobile.

Part of Apple’s business advantage has always been its broad appeal. Placing services such as Fitness and News alongside Games thus indicates that it recognises the increased importance of mobile gaming and the equally important appeal it has to Apple’s paying customers.

As Apple Arcade updates we also cover additions and the current catalogue in our own ongoing report.