The Best Apple Arcade Games Available In 2025

The best of the best for Apple's subscription service

Apple Arcade gives subscribers a wide range of games, genres, and formats to choose from, and all of that choice could lead to some indecision paralysis. With so many options, it may be difficult to choose which game to try next; however, there are definitely a few that stand out among the rest.

Presented here are some of the best Apple Arcade games you can play right now, all of which come without ads and microtransactions thanks to Apple Arcade's "no in-game purchase" policy. Action, sports, deckbuilding, and more are all represented here, so players of all interests will be able to find something, download it, and get playing immediately.

If you're not subscribed and want to check out the service yourself, Apple Arcade costs $7 a month and also offers a free one-month trial to new members. It's also available as part of the Apple One bundle, where it's offered alongside Apple Music, Apple News, and more for $20 a month.

Balatro+

• Genre: Roguelike Deckbuilder
• Developer: Localthunk
• Release Date: September 26, 2024

Balatro became a household name thanks to its simple gameplay loop: Use traditional playing cards and poker hands to score points, collect Jokers to act as score modifiers, and try to defeat as many blinds as possible. The familiar spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts give players an easy entry point, but it'll only take a few runs for the brilliance of Balatro to show itself. This is the kind of game where playing for 10 hours can feel like 10 minutes, so be prepared to say "just one more run" as soon as you jump in.

Slay The Spire+

• Genre: Roguelike Deckbuilder
• Developer: Mega Crit
• Release Date: July 7, 2023

Another card-based roguelike, Slay The Spire+ takes you on a journey to save the world armed with nothing but a hand of cards. While Balatro uses more traditional playing cards for its gameplay, Slay The Spire instead uses cards to arm you with attacks, spells, and character buffs, then sends you out to defeat all manner of monsters. Slay The Spire is one of the older games on this list--it first debuted on PC in 2019--but the experience still holds up after all this time. A sequel is on the way later in 2025.

Skate City: New York

• Genre: Sports
• Developer: Snowman
• Release Date: January 9, 2025

Skate City: New York gives players a simple goal: Get on a skateboard, ride through the streets of New York City, and try to pull off as many tricks, jumps, and grinds as possible. Skate City's version of New York City is impressively authentic, while the core skating gameplay will evoke similar feelings to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games of old. This may be one of the best skateboarding games the iPhone and iPad have ever seen.

Final Fantasy+

• Genre: Role-Playing
• Developer: Square Enix
• Release Date: January 9, 2025

The first installment of the iconic Square Enix RPG franchise is one of the more recent additions to the Apple Arcade service. Final Fantasy+ is the full Pixel Remaster edition of the original FF adventure, as it lets players take the Warrior Of Light and his crew into battle against Garland and his evil forces. RPG fans looking for a new adventure on iPhone or iPad should consider going back to where it all began for Final Fantasy.

TMNT: Splintered Fate

• Genre: Roguelite RPG
• Developer: Super Evil Megacorp
• Release Date: May 4, 2023

TMNT: Splintered Fate thrusts Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo into unfamiliar territory, as it trades in the classic beat-'em-up gameplay of the arcades for a roguelike action-RPG experience. Each run will power up the turtles and discover new abilities, whether you decide to fly solo or link up with friends via co-op online gameplay. Throw in some classic TMNT villains like Shredder and Krang--while also adding Casey Jones as a playable character--and Splintered Fate is one of the top TMNT experiences in all of gaming right now.

Fantasian

• Genre: Role-playing
• Developer: Mistwalker
• Release Date: April 2, 2021

A turn-based RPG from the mind of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Fantasian hearkens back to bygone era of role-playing games, with deep exploration intertwined with heavy turn-based fighting action. Couple this with the music of Nobuo Uematsu, and a visual style that incorporates real-world dioramas built specifically to be the in-game worlds, and you have a unique and thrilling game that's a simple download away with your Apple Arcade subscription.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure

• Genre: Life simulation
• Developer: Sunblink
• Release Date: July 28, 2023

Hello Kitty meets Animal Crossing in Hello Kitty Island Adventure, with dozens of hours of life-sim gameplay on offer. Your original character can cook, fish, garden, and more with Sanrio, Keroppi, Retsuko, and the gang, with new quests and adventures being added regularly. The full Animal Crossing experience might never hit mobile devices--sorry, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp--but Hello Kitty Island Adventure carries the mantle well.

The Oregon Trail

• Genre: Adventure
• Developer: Gameloft
• Release Date: April 2, 2021

This reimagined all-time classic will send you back on the trail from Independence, Missouri to Oregon in search of gold and glory. Gameloft did its homework with this remake, however, as it consulted with indigenous Americans all along the trail to get the names, locations, and tribes within as authentically realized as possible, offering an educational trip along the trail along with the classic hunting and fording. The Oregon Trail isn't just a great Apple Arcade game; it's a blueprint for how to remake a classic game in the modern era.

Vampire Survivors+

• Genre: Roguelike survival RPG
• Developer: poncle
• Release Date: July 1, 2024

If you haven't checked out the viral indie hit Vampire Survivors, Apple Arcade has you covered. The retro-style action game starts with a lone hero fighting a few demons, and eventually the screen is filled with your own attacks and enemies of all shapes and sizes coming for the hero's head. The engaging gameplay loop has that "one more run" feel, especially when you unlock a new character with a cool new ability, and before long hours have passed. It hasn't been on Apple Arcade long, but Vampire Survivors+ is one of the best on the service.

Sonic Dream Team

• Genre: 3D platformer
• Developer: Sega
• Release Date: October 23, 2023

Sonic The Hedgehog stars in a few games within the Apple Arcade subscription, but Sonic Dream Team is the best of the bunch. Dream Team plays like a PS2-era Sonic 3D platformer--think Sonic Heroes and its ilk--and sees Sonic, Tails, and more speeding through massive stages while collecting rings and defeating Eggman's baddies. Sonic Dream Team seems like a dream, but it is a complete Sonic adventure game right in your pocket.

Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On

• Genre: Card-based horse racing
• Developer: Game Freak
• Release Date: December 20, 2022

Pokemon isn't the only long-running series Game Freak has produced over the years; Pocket Card Jockey, a game that mixes solitaire with horse racing, is another great Game Freak franchise that lends itself well to mobile gaming. Apple Arcade has its own edition, Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On, and it's as fun and frenetic as ever. Using solitaire to gain ground, maintain position, or make the final charge is a ton of fun, and hey, there are cute horses everywhere! What more could you ask for?

Stardew Valley+

• Genre: Farm simulation RPG
• Developer: ConcernedApe
• Release Date: June 24, 2023

Farming RPG Stardew Valley has been a fan favorite since it first launched in February 2016, ushering in an era of low-key, easy-going indie games with it. Growing crops, raising livestock, settling down to start a family, and even some spelunking offer plenty of variety throughout the 50+ hour adventure. The Apple Arcade version makes the experience even better, with mobile-exclusive enhancements like auto-saving and multiple control options. If you haven't traveled to Stardew Valley yet, Apple Arcade is a great way to get there. And if you enjoy ourself, there are plenty of games like Stardew Valley to occupy your time, multiple of which are available on mobile.

Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition

• Genre: Life simulation
• Developer: Gameloft
• Release Date: October 26, 2023

Take the Animal-Crossing-style life sim mechanics of the previously-mentioned Hello Kitty or Stardew Valley, infuse them with a little Disney magic, and you get Disney Dreamlight Valley. Players enter a world inhabited with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Elsa, and more iconic Disney characters, all of whom act as quest givers and neighbors to mingle with as you rebuilding the valley after a cataclysmic event. It's relaxing, it's nostalgic, and it's wonderful...and it's only available for mobile devices on Apple Arcade.

Mini Motorways

• Genre: Puzzle
• Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club
• Release Date: September 19, 2019

Welcome to the wonderful world of...infrastructure? Yes, Mini Motorways is all about drawing roads in order to maintain clear traffic patterns, but the gameplay instantly hooks you, and before long your city is expanding past the borders of the screen. Couple that with maps based on real-world cities, an Expert Mode which offers more obstacles, and the ability to export GIFs of your cities to share with the world, and you have another Apple Arcade winner with Mini Motorways.

Threes+

• Genre: Puzzle
• Developer: Sirvo
• Release Date: April 2, 2021

Threes+ makes math fun. We know that's a huge endorsement on its own, but the number-based puzzle gameplay where tiles combine to make the values go up is so simple, yet so engaging, that it's hard to fully describe to those who haven't tried it yet. Load it up once, venture through your first board of tiles, and you'll see what we mean.

Grindstone

• Genre: Match-3
• Developer: Capybara Games
• Release Date: September 19, 2019

Match-3 games like Candy Crush Saga are what some people normally think of when they hear the term "mobile game," but Apple Arcade offers a fantastic alternative to the genre in Grindstone. This has you matching colored monsters in order to clear rows, sure, but it also places the hero Jorj in the board too, and only the monsters around him can be attacked. This adds a new strategic element to mindless matching, and as a result, creates a fantastic new experience, made all the better by a terrific soundtrack.

NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition

• Genre: Sports
• Developer: 2K Sports
• Release Date: October 3, 2024

NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition is as close as you can get to the full NBA 2K experience on the go. Touch controls simplify the action on the court, while modes like MyCareer, The Greatest, and The Association let you play as a superstar, up-and-coming rookie, or even the head coach of your favorite team. This year also adds The Neighborhood, a fully traversable outdoor area with open courts, NPCs to speak with, and more. As far as pure sports simulations go, NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition is a top prospect.

Ridiculous Fishing EX

• Genre: Fishing shooter
• Developer: Vlambeer
• Release Date: July 9, 2023

Sometimes, a game's ideas are perfectly explained simply by reading the title. Ridiculous Fishing EX is a great example; first, you'll drop your hook into the water and try to catch as many fish as possible, and then you'll launch them into the air and mow them down with pistols, shotgun, or rifles in order to score points. The disparity in tone between the two phases are both jarring and hysterically funny, somehow blending into a weird a wonderful day on the lake.

Downwell+

• Genre: Roguelike platformer
• Developer: Moppin
• Release Date: October 25, 2023

We've never had so much fun falling down a well as we have with Downwell+. The striking retro-themed graphics--which only use four colors--make it seem simple, but the side-scrolling action and roguelike elements combine to create an experience that's never the same twice. That unpredictability makes Downwell+ one of Apple Arcade's best options for a quick pick-up-and-play session, as you never know what you're going to get when you boot it up.

Shovel Knight Dig

• Genre: Roguelike platformer
• Developer: Yacht Club Games
• Release Date: September 23, 2022

Shovel Knight has been delighting players with its retro-meets-modern game design for a decade now, and Shovel Knight Dig is the latest example. The roguelike adventure sees Shovel Knight descend into an underground dungeon--falling vertically through stages like previous entry Downwell--where he must battle enemies new and old in order to stop Drill Knight and his Hexcavators from wreaking havoc. Each run unlocks new abilities, power-ups, and paths, and the procedurally generated dungeons provide plenty of variety from run to run.

NFL Retro Bowl '25

• Genre: Sports
• Developer: New Star Games
• Release Date: September 5, 2024

Tecmo Bowl is one of the most-beloved classic sports games ever made, and NFL Retro Bowl '25 captures that essence incredibly well. The simplified play-calling and throwback graphics will send a wave of nostalgia at older players, while the younger crowd can pick up and play football with little issue. This year's version also introduced the official NFL license for the first time, so now you can play as your favorite NFL team and set forth for the Super Bowl in retro style.

Wylde Flowers

• Genre: Life simulation
• Developer: Studio Drydock
• Release Date: February 18, 2022

On the surface, Wylde Flowers looks like a standard farming sim, with crops to tend and livestock to raise. However, there's a witchy twist: Protagonist Tara has a few magical abilities at her disposal, including the ability to control the weather and transform into a cat. You'll use this mix of magic and farming to help the town of Fairhaven become a bustling burg teeming with produce and productivity, all with an intriguing story bubbling under the surface.

Stitch

• Genre: Puzzle
• Developer: Lykkegaard Europe
• Release Date: October 28, 2022

A game about cross stitch is not one you might expect on a "best games list," but Stitch is one of the most relaxing games you'll ever play. Stitch translates the fine art of cross stitching into a casual puzzle game where each stitch project is a numbered grid, and your job is to complete each "hoop" by filling every area with no gaps. Stitch offers dozens of pictures as puzzles--including a recent partnership with DreamWorks, which added Shrek-themed challenges--at all difficulties, so anyone can pick this up and enjoy.

What The Car

• Genre: Puzzle
• Developer: Lykkegaard Europe
• Release Date: May 4, 2023

If we said "this is a racing game where you drive a car," that sounds plainly obvious. While that is how you play What The Car, it's by no means a standard racer; for one thing, the "car" in question has human legs. What The Car's inherent silliness is its greatest feature, as you'll surely be laughing while you race, climb, deliver packages, and more throughout its hundreds of levels. Bonus points for all of the cute bears you meet along the way.

Gris+

• Genre: Platformer
• Developer: Nomada Studio
• Release Date: September 30, 2022

The visually stunning platformer Gris hit Apple Arcade in 2022, and it remains one of the best platformers on the service. The story of loss, the grieving process, and acceptance makes an immediate impact, while the platforming and puzzle-solving gameplay on offer is engaging and challenging without being too difficult. Gris+ only takes a couple hours to complete, but it'll stick with you long after the credits roll.