Apple officially launches Arcade platform for online games

SAN FRANCISCO - US tech giant Apple Inc Thursday officially launched its Arcade platform for subscribed gaming services for about $5 per month.

Apple offered a one-month trial for users who would pay $4.99 for the subscription that includes unlimited access to more than 100 new games to be rolled out in fall this year.

The subscription is ad-free with no additional purchases necessary, Apple said.

Apple Arcade will include games from popular production studios such as Annapurna Interactive LLC headquartered in California, Ustwo Games based in London, Britain, Japan's gaming giant Konami Holdings Corporation, and Ubisoft Games (US).

Apple announced Arcade for the first time early this year, and Arcade-based games can be played on iPhones running iOS 13, the latest Apple operating system that was released earlier in the day.

The new iOS, which has a dark mode, allows everything from iMessage and Photos.

First announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2019 three months ago, iOS 13 is compatible with iPhones 6s or later, including the newest iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.