In Apple’s September event, a little over two months ago, the tech-giant made a promise: More than 100 games would come to Apple Arcade – its subscription gaming service – in the weeks following launch.

Weeks, not months.

This weekend, and just in the nick of time, Rosie’s Reality, Apple Arcade’s 101st title was released.

Phew, that was close. With Apple Arcade releasing to iOS and iPadOS on September 19 (a week later on Apple TV, and October for Macs), another few days and I could’ve written a story about broken promises. And being the eternal optimist I am, I didn’t really want to write that story.

After a slow start, 2019 has turned out to be a big year for Apple TV gaming, provided you have an Apple Arcade subscription. Without one, high quality releases have been thin on the ground, apart from a recent notable acceptation – Dead Cells (so good!).

Where to from here then Apple TV gamers?

 

In this list of 30 upcoming Apple Arcade games that ATVG published back on October 5, 15 have still yet to release. We know that some, such as The Pathless, are scheduled for 2020, so obviously Apple’s catalogue of Arcade games will continue to expand, but what of non-Apple Arcade games? Where are they?

Back in December 2018, ATVG had a look at its most anticipated games of 2019, and it’s still a very solid list, and definitely highly anticipated. Among that list, Cascadia Games continues work on the solid-looking 2D platformer Moon Raider, we’re still waiting patiently for Thatgamecompany’s Sky, Legendo has two up its sleeve, and Vector Unit’s kart racer is expected early 2020.

So ATVG’s list of highly anticipated Apple TV games of 2019 continues hanging on the vine, looking like it will finally come to maturity in 2020.

With the success of Apple Arcade (and all media indications point towards it being an overwhelming success), ATVG predicts that attention will be drawn towards Apple TV as a viable gaming platform, with more developers bringing titles to the platform in 2020, outside of Apple Arcade.

No doubt this early period following launch will be a period of wait-and-see, followed by studios drawing up plans to launch on Apple TV next year. At least that’s how ATVG optimistically sees things playing out.

Prove me wrong reality, I dare you.

To the more immediate future, I actually believe that Apple – having fulfilled its initial promise – should now hold off on the releases for a few weeks and give subscribers a chance to catch up. Let the desire for new releases build up a little leading up to the holiday season, and then just prior to the yearly App Store freeze, dump a load of 10 or 20 titles to give everyone that Christmas cheer.

And save one big killer title for that bulk release, something that will make games writers drop everything and scramble to keyboards around the world, stringing sentences together in an excited frenzy.

That’s how I’d like to see the next few weeks play out.

Back to the here and now, Rosie’s Reality looks sweet. Coming in at just over 500mb, it’s much smaller in comparison to the storage footprint of many other Apple Arcade titles, many of which have been in excess of 1GB. Since the release of Apple Arcade, I’ve already had to clear some space on my Apple TV’s hard drive to make room. It appears it will be a constant juggle. We need a 1TB Apple TV.

The trailer below for Rosie Reality promises a very family friendly affair, with a mix of arcade action and puzzle-solving, dressed in bright cartoon garb – rounded edges and lost, yet hopeful robots. Very cute.

Alright then, that’s ATVG’s take on things. Hit up the social media links in the top banner and give a shout to your stand-out Apple Arcade releases of recent weeks. And be sure to share/retweet the love, letting other Apple TV gamers wandering in the wilderness know that there is a home for them here at ATVG. Why not start a conversation in your forum of choice, dropping the occasional link to the best Apple TV gaming website in the world?

Why not??

(c’mon, a little shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone, right?)

If you’re new to The Apple TV Gaming Blog (ATVG), or just new to Apple TV gaming in general, or both, then the best place to get acquainted is our Best Apple TV Games of 2019 article. You’ll find a great collection of games to play, and a bunch of useful links to our previous site content. Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.