How to Cancel Apple Arcade 2026 — Is $7/Month for Mobile Games Worth It?
Updated March 2026 • 5 min read
Apple Arcade costs $6.99/month (or $49.99/year) for access to 200+ games with no ads and no in-app purchases. Sounds great in theory. In practice, most people play 2-3 games during the free trial, get bored, and forget they're paying. Sound familiar?
⚠️ The Apple One trap: If Apple Arcade is bundled in your Apple One subscription ($20/month for Individual, $26/month for Family), canceling Arcade separately isn't possible — you'd need to cancel or downgrade the entire Apple One bundle. Check Settings → Subscriptions to see how you're billed.
Apple Arcade Pricing
- Monthly: $6.99/month
- Annual: $49.99/year ($4.17/month — saves $34/year)
- Apple One Individual: $19.95/month (includes Arcade + Music + TV+ + iCloud+ 50GB)
- Apple One Family: $25.95/month (same + family sharing + 200GB iCloud)
How to Cancel Apple Arcade
On iPhone/iPad
- Open Settings → tap your name at top
- Tap Subscriptions
- Tap Apple Arcade
- Tap Cancel Subscription (or Cancel Free Trial if still in trial)
On Mac
- Open App Store → click your name (bottom left)
- Click Account Settings
- Scroll to Subscriptions → click Manage
- Find Apple Arcade → click Edit → Cancel Subscription
On Apple TV
- Settings → Users and Accounts → your account
- Subscriptions → Apple Arcade → Cancel
🚨 You lose access to ALL Arcade games: When your subscription ends, every Apple Arcade game becomes unplayable — even ones you downloaded. Your save data is preserved, so if you resubscribe later you can pick up where you left off. But there's no way to keep playing individual games after canceling.
Why Apple Arcade Isn't Worth It for Most People
- You probably play 1-2 games: 200+ games sounds great until you realize you only play one regularly
- Quality is inconsistent: Some gems (Grindstone, Sneaky Sasquatch) but lots of forgettable filler
- No AAA titles: Apple Arcade games are mostly casual/indie — not competing with console games
- Free games are fine: Ad-supported mobile games are annoying but playable for $0
- Better to buy games outright: The 2-3 games you'd actually play cost $5-10 each to buy permanently
The Math
At $7/month, Apple Arcade costs $84/year. If you play 3 games regularly, buying them outright would cost $15-30 total — forever, no subscription. You'd save $54-69 in year one and $84/year every year after.
Free Alternatives
- Buy individual games: Your top 3 Arcade favorites probably cost $5-10 each to own permanently
- Free-to-play games: Genshin Impact, Among Us, Subway Surfers — massive free games
- Google Play Pass: $5/month if you're on Android — similar concept, slightly cheaper
- Xbox Cloud Gaming: $15/month for actual AAA console games on your phone
- Retro games: Delta emulator (free, legal on iOS) for classic Nintendo, GBA, etc.
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