Katamari Damacy, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and More | Here’s What’s Coming to Apple Arcade in April
Credit: Apple
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Apple Arcade may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to argue that the service doesn’t offer a broad and unique selection of games — and it’s often managed to attract some exciting and exclusive titles.
For example, one of the service’s launch titles was Fantasian, a highly-acclaimed JRPG from Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy franchise. It was later joined by others like Sonic Dream Team, Sneaky Sasquatch, and Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm. While some of these eventually came to other game platforms, they began their lives on Apple Arcade, and remained solely available on Apple’s service for months or even years.
Now, Apple has lined up another exclusive original from a popular franchise. Today, the company announced that the first entirely original title from the Katamari franchise in nearly eight years will launch exclusively on Apple Arcade next month.
Katamari Damacy Rolling Live is a new adventure in which the King of All Cosmos plans to use your katamari rolling skills to build a live-streaming audience.
In this quirky action game — an Apple Arcade exclusive — players expand their Katamari by rolling up objects scattered across the earth. Featuring unique and whimsical gameplay, and a captivating soundtrack that blends different genres, the game invites players to energize the king’s “live stream” by rolling their Katamari to create stars. As users advance, comments from in-game fans appear, and the longer they play, the larger their audience grows. By completing the king’s challenges and boosting their subscriber count, players can unlock dynamic new stages.
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While remasters of the series’ first two games were released in the past few years, this one is a fresh chapter in the Katamari Damacy universe, with all the same delightful quirkiness as the original. It’s published by Bandai Namco Entertainment and joins the company’s other popular Apple Arcade games, including Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat, Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom, and PAC-MAN Party Royale.
Apple also has five other classic entries coming in April, including Taito’s Space Invaders Infinity Gene Evolve, Atari’s RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic+, puffies, a puzzle game by Lykke Studios, Hasbro’s classic The Game of Life 2+, developed by Marmalade Game Studio, and StoryToys’ Sesame Street Mecha Builders+ for young learners.
The new Space Invaders title looks like it will be a fun homage to the classic 1978 classic mixed in with the 2009 Infinity Gene revival, which blended the classic game mechanics with a modern 3D twist, evolving as players progressed. The Apple Arcade version will take that to a new level with enhanced visuals, the ability to switch between classic shooting and bullet-hell modes, and new ships, each with unique abilities — including crossovers from other classic Taito shooters like Darius, Night Striker, and RayStorm. It’s an evolution of Space Invaders I couldn’t have possibly imagined when I popped the original into my Atari 2600 in 1981).
A relaxing jigsaw-style puzzle game, puffies. by Lykke Studios provides hand-designed puzzles with “the nostalgic charm of puffy stickers” (hence the name). The Game of Life 2+ provides an official sequel to the famous board game that updates it for the modern era, both in gameplay and content. Careers range from dolphin trainer to quantum mechanic, and the expanded game board provides even more choices and adventures than ever.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic+ blends elements from RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 into a single iPhone and iPad-optimized game that lets you create the theme park of your dreams, and includes the Wacky Worlds, Time Twister, and Toolkit expansion packs.
There’s also something here for younger gamers in Sesame Street Mecha Builders+, which will let kids join Mecha Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby on a learning adventure that combines science, engineering, math, and creativity to create engaging activities, including puzzle-solving, coding, mixing colors, creating music, and more.
Apple has also announced content updates for some of its other recent hit titles. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will join NBA 2K25 Arcade Edition on March 13, and PGA TOUR Pro Golf will add the TPC Sawgrass course and a new Campaign mode. On March 27, 30 new levels will come to Skate City: New York.
An Apple Arcade subscription costs $6.99 monthly and provides a family of up to six people with access to over 200 games with no ads, in-app purchases, or other hidden costs. It’s also included in all Apple One tiers, and most titles are playable across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro.
