Apple Arcade’s Biggest Expansion Yet Adds 30 New Games Including Fantasian, NBA 2K21, And Oregon Trail

Apple Arcade exploded this morning, adding 30 new titles across three categories: “Arcade Originals” like Mistwalker’s RPG Fantasian and a game from the makers of Hot Shots Golf, “App Store Greats” like Monument Valley and Threes!, and “Timeless Classics” like Zach Gage’s Really Bad Chess and good old Solitaire. It’s the biggest influx of games to the $4.99 service since launch, bringing the catalog to over 180 games.

I woke up this morning and logged on to Apple Arcade on my phone to play some of Mistwalker’s new old-school turn-based RPG, Fantasian. I went to the Arcade section of iTunes, then the “All Games” menu, and I began to scroll. NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition? That’s new. Clap Hanz Golf, a new game from the makers of my favorite anime golf series ever, Hot Shots Golf (aka Everybody’s Golf)? Holy crap.

Fantasian, Clap Hanz Golf, and NBA 2K21 Arcade are joined by Wonderbox: The Adventure Maker, World of Demons, a modern twist on The Oregon Trail, Simon’s Cat: Story Time, Star Trek: Legends, Cut the Rope Remastered, and SongPop Party as new Apple Originals available on the Apple Arcade service today.

Then we’ve got the App Store Greats, older app store games that everybody knows, available for the first time as part of the subscription service. It’s silly to have an Apple Arcade without Fruit Ninja, Monument Valley, Threes!, Mini Metro, Chameleon Run, Badland, Blek, Don’t Starve, Reigns, and The Room Two.

Finally, there’s Timeless Classics, which are the games us older folks expect in a video game arcade. Solitaire, Flipflop Solitaire, Chess – Play & Learn, Really Bad Chess, Good Sudoku by Zach Gage, Sudoku Simple, Backgammon, Tiny Crossword, SpellTower, and Mahjong Titan make an Apple Arcade subscription a fine gift idea for your parents. Or grandparents. Shut up.

New games, new categories, new reasons for me to keep my iPad charger handy. All this for the same $4.99 a month I’ll never remember to cancel even if I wanted to. Not too shabby, Apple.