Like Apple Arcade, there are no ads or in-app purchases in any of the Play Pass games. And while the Play Store has a reputation for being a lot more open to low-quality apps compared to Apple’s App Store, the Play Pass library is packed with indie and triple-A ports, beloved mobile classics, and fascinating games worth discovering. Since launching in September 2019, Play Pass has grown to include more than 460 curated titles. Meanwhile, the value of Google Play Pass has only increased. In 2020, Bloomberg reported Apple cut ties with some Apple Arcade developers in order to focus on a new strategy of player retention, but with each passing year the subscription service is showing fewer and fewer signs of life.

The Apple Arcade launch titles are still the best games available, and Apple has pivoted to converting old iOS games like Fruit Ninja and Threes! into the add-free, in-app purchase-free service. Apple Arcade has grown from 71 titles to over 200 in the last three years, but it hasn’t been able to keep the same momentum it launched with.

Apple Arcade got a lot of positive attention with launch titles like Grindstone, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Lego Brawls, Rayman Mini, and Exit the Gungeon, overshadowing Google’s competing service, Play Pass, which launched just a week later. Every game it featured was ad-free, mtx-free, drm-free (meaning no always-online games) and developed specifically for the service rather than the general Apple App Store. When Apple Arcade launched in September 2019, it had a bold vision.

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