Starting next week, iPhone users will get access to their first-ever game streaming service, despite Apple’s own Arcade solution. Thanks to EU-specific changes to App Review Guidelines, Apple decided to expand some new features globally.
Apple made retro game emulators available worldwide and also allowed developers to release their own game streaming services. While popular services have thus far opted out, Antstream announced its Arcade is coming to the App Store on June 27 with 1,300 retro games.
As noted by Cult of Mac, the titles include various old-school systems and games, such as Pong, Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Hogs of War. Unlike retro game emulator apps, the advantage of paying for the Antstream Arcade subscription is the legitimate offering of playing your favorite old (and new) games via stream.
That said, it’s important to note that it requires a Wi-Fi or cellular connection to stream games, and it offers titles from consoles such as the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Atari 2600, etc.
Beyond hosting hundreds of retro games, Antstream Arcade also encourages competition by giving players challenges to complete, global weekly tournaments to compete in, and, of course, leaderboards upon which to share their high scores. You can also connect a second controller to play with or against your friends and family from the couch. Antstream also gives you four save slots for every game, so you will never lose your progress.
AntStream Arcade is available on several platforms, including on Xbox X. Released on Microsoft’s platform in 2023, the subscription had over 1,400 classic games at the time. While titles come and go, it’s nice to see a gaming subscription coming to the iPhone, especially with the rise of retro game emulators in the past months.
Antstream Arcade will cost $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year during its App Store launch. Then, it will revert to its original price: $4.99/month or $39.99/year.
