Apple Arcade Became a Home for Life Sim and Animal Crossing Like Games

Over the years, we’ve seen a wide range of titles come to Apple’s game subscription service. Some are “plus” versions of existing mobile titles, while others are entirely new and even exclusive. But one thing that’s increasingly come up is how Apple Arcade ended up packed with life sim games and titles like Animal Crossing. 

It’s something that sort of crept up on us. It started with a lot of farming sims. Nightmare Farm was among the first. Farm It is lighter on the “life” element, but definitely offers the farming. Cozy Groveended up basically being the first Animal Crossing kind of game on the service when it appeared in March 2021.  

However, in recent months these additions accelerated. Stardew Valley+ showed up in the library in July 2023. The Apple Arcade exclusive Hello Kitty Island Adventure game is an Animal Crossing  style life sim in which you help fellow villagers and visitors, decorate cabins, and enjoy island life while taking on quests. Japan Rural Life slipped out in 2023 under the radar, offering a Japanese farming and life sim. Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition showed up there as well, offering people the Disney take on the genre on a new platform. 2024 kicked off with Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom. While it features more adventure elements and going around to locations helping people, there’s crafting, resource management, and building up a campground.

And, when you think about it, the nature of Apple Arcade suits the genre. In the case of games like Stardew Valley or even Cozy Grove, we have established games that are full life sim experiences and keep people playing on a daily basis for hours. The nature of the service also encourages developers to issue regular updates to keep people coming back, which fits titles like Hello Kitty Island Adventure and Disney Dreamlight Valley. It also is a genre that is very accessible to other players.

The only downside is, it capitalizes on the addictive and compelling nature of these games to hook people into the subscription service. Especially if it is a title that does get regular updates with new items and characters. People will want to keep interacting with their virtual friends or tending their farms. It’s $6.99 per month for Apple Arcade, and that cost certainly adds up. Especially in the case of something like Stardew Valley, Cozy Grove, or even Disney Dreamlight Valley, where a version of the game could be purchased on other platforms and be complete. 

It is interesting to see this progression and embracing of life sims like Animal Crossing and farming games on Apple Arcade. It’s certainly showing how tapping into a genre that captivates people and keeps them continually playing day after day can help. Plus, it does help for folks who like a particular genre and want to have an outlet to opt into a collection of such titles in one place. I do worry a bit about the idea of feeling compelled to keep paying such a fee, especially when some titles are available stand-alone on other platforms for a lower cost. However, in moderation or for brief periods it’s a fun option and offers an opportunity to text out experiences or maybe relax for a month or two.

Apple Arcade appears on Apple iOS devices and Macs.