There's a way to play Apple Arcade early by downloading the public iOS 13 beta, letting you get a headstart on the new game subscription service for iPhones, iPads and Apple TV.
If you're itching to play Exit the Gungeon or Sayonara Wild Hearts before Apple Arcade's official release this Thursday, we've got you covered because we, too, have been enjoying the best to offer on Apple's killer app.
Best of all, the first month on Apple Arcade is free, so you can play upwards of 20 brand new mobile games in the next hour or so for nothing, depending on your internet speed and attention span.
If you don't know what Apple Arcade is, our friends at SuperParent have summarized if it's a good deal (it is) for you and your family, including any kids you might have and how you can introduce them to games safely.
And if you liked what you read there then you can get Apple Arcade now, just follow our simple setup guide below.
How to get Apple Arcade now through iOS 13 public beta
Apple Arcade is a new section of the App Store introduced with Apple's latest update to their mobile operating system, iOS 13. As well as introducing Apple Arcade, there are a number of other neat improvements to native apps, like photo and video editing, as well as a system-wide dark mode which is heaven for our tired gamer eyes.
To get the public beta strand of iOS 13 simply head to this site and log in or register for the beta programme using your Apple ID. Before you install anything, it's a good idea to backup your iPhone, so run that through iTunes now if you need. Once you've logged into the beta site, make sure you're using the Safari internet browser and navigate to the "Enroll your iOS device" link. This will allow you to download a profile which gives your phone access to a beta branch of the software update system. Go to Settings and you should see a new option in there to install the profile, if not navigate to Settings > General > Profile to do it manually.
Your phone will need to restart after installing the profile, and when it boots back up you can go to Settings > General > Software Update to begin downloading the iOS 13 Public Beta. Agree to all the conditions and warnings about this potentially being unstable (we've noticed some small slowdown issues when switching apps and receiving notification banners, but otherwise it's stable enough). Then, once the software update has downloaded it will begin installation and reboot.
Now that you're running iOS 13, when you open the App Store you'll see a tab marked Arcade at the bottom of the screen. Go there and choose to subscribe to Arcade, provide your billing information (although the first month is free it will renew automatically on the same day next month) and you can then begin installing any game you want.
Enjoy playing Sayonara Wild Hearts, Overland, Exit The Gungeon, Assemble with Care (from Monument Valley developers usTwo Games) and many more for free for a month, and then for $4.99 a month thereafter. You can also invite family members to the same Arcade plan through the Apple Store's Family Sharing feature, making it even better value.
That's all you need to know to start playing Apple Arcade right now by downloading the iOS 13 public beta!
