Apple is pouring close to half a billion dollars into their forthcoming gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade – according to a report from the Financial Times on Saturday.

According to the article: “Apple is spending several million dollars each on most of the more than 100 games that have been selected to launch on Apple Arcade, with its total budget likely to exceed $500m.”

Included in that number are “extra incentives” to developers for timed service exclusivity, which would ensure that a number of high-profile releases appear first on Apple Arcade, and do not branch out to other platforms such as Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, Steam, or Google’s upcoming streaming service, Google Stadia, for a certain amount of time.

Even more noteworthy in the FT article are the financial projections from banking institution HSBC on just how rapidly they expect Apple Arcade to grow within the next few years. The firm says that Apple’s upcoming gaming service will explode from a paltry $370 million during its first year in 2020, up to a very impressive $2.7 billion within two years. By the year 2024, the estimates are for Apple Arcade revenues to reach $4.1 billion.

Will it take long for Apple to dominate the world?
(image from technobezz)

While $4.1 billion would only represent a small fraction of the entire net worth of the gaming industry, which was estimated to be valued at approximately $135 billion at the end of 2018, Apple Arcade’s estimated revenue would still represent a significant return on the company’s investment. What’s even more startling in these estimates however, is the rapid growth that is expected within such a short amount of time. These numbers provided by HSBC’s analysts represent Apple Arcade’s earnings multiplying by 12, within four years.

What’s even more intriguing though, is the fact that these numbers are based on what little we know at this point regarding Apple Arcade. Should there be a title that catches fire with the gaming community, along the lines of a Fortnite, or Apex Legends, then those numbers could drastically increase.

While we will have to wait and see for now, as to how Apple’s move into the gaming industry plays out, one thing is certain: Apple is deadly serious about their intentions. Those who are nay-saying or downplaying the significance of Apple’s arrival into the gaming industry (or Google’s for that matter) are doing nothing more than sticking their head in the proverbial sand.

Apple has not yet revealed a release date for Apple Arcade, although that announcement may come as early as June. The service will launch in 2019.