Apple Arcade has obtained exclusivity on Jetpack Joyride 2 , the sequel to the mobile game released in the early 2010s. A return that no one expected, but which should boost subscriptions to the service.
At the very beginning of the smartphone, mobile gaming was not yet very popular. The list of big hits could be counted on the fingers of one hand, such as Angry Birds , Doodle Jump , Fruit Ninja or… Jetpack Joyride . This “runner”, in which you have to go as far as possible by moving with a jetpack (and surviving many obstacles), was one of the first truly addictive games on the App Store. It offered a colossal success to its developer, Halfbrick, who then declined it on as many platforms as possible (Android, Windows Phone, Windows, PlayStation, BlackBerry OS and even Flash Player, yes, Flash Player).
11 years after Jetpack Joyride , a game that we thought was destined to remain a remnant of the early days of the smartphone, Halfbrick Studios will launch Jetpack Joyride 2 on August 19 (they didn’t bother too much about the name). Exclusive to iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and macOS (this is an Apple Arcade exclusive , Apple’s $5 per month subscription ), Jetpack Joyride 2 takes the original concept with new antagonists and more modern levels .
A good move for Apple?
Officially, Jetpack Joyride 2 has been in development since early 2021. Already available in some countries as a test, the game had not been announced as exclusive to Apple Arcade. It must be said that this partnership may surprise: why Halfbrick Studios, which holds such a popular license, does it reserve it for Apple? One can imagine that the Apple contract prohibits the developer from offering Jetpack Joyride 2 on platforms other than his for several years.
The most surprising thing is that the beta of the game was available on Android, which means that Halfbrick Studios will voluntarily leave out some of its potential customers.
To obtain this exclusivity, Apple undoubtedly signed a big check. It must be said that given the popularity of Jetpack Joyride , born on iOS in 2011, the Californian brand surely thinks that it has everything to gain. Will people subscribe to Apple Arcade (or Apple One, its bundle with all its services) just for this sequel? In the meantime, the remaster of the original game, with no in-app purchases and no ads, is available in Apple Arcade.
