Antstream Arcade review

Antstream Arcade fills a niche the big services ignore: legally licensed retro games streamed from the cloud. The catalog lists over 1,300 games across arcade machines, Amiga, Amstrad, Atari, C64, Game Boy, SNES, DOS, Windows, ZX Spectrum, Mega Drive and the original PlayStation, with no ROMs or emulator setup. Antstream adds more than 300 original challenge modes with global leaderboards, weekly tournaments, couch co-op and cross play, and progress follows you across PC, console and mobile. A membership covers the full library, and you can create a free account to look around first with no card. It scores low on capabilities here because it has no modern games and no published resolution figures, but it is easy to start and cheap compared with the services above. Prices showed in euros from our location, so the USD price is pending.

Who it is for

Retro fans who want licensed classics with challenges and leaderboards, not modern AAA games.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Over 1,300 officially licensed retro games
• Systems from arcade, Amiga, C64 and ZX Spectrum to SNES, Mega Drive and PlayStation
• Over 300 original challenge modes and weekly tournaments
• Couch co-op and cross play
• Monthly, yearly and lifetime membership options

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Licensed retro catalog with no ROMs or emulator setup
• Strength: Challenge modes add something new to old games
• Strength: Lifetime option for long-term fans
• Weakness: Only retro games, no modern releases
• Weakness: Maximum resolution is not published
• Weakness: Prices showed in euros from our location, so the USD price is pending

Key facts

• Library: Over 1,300 licensed retro games
• Players: 3M+ gamers, per Antstream
• Challenges: Over 300 original challenge modes
• Plans: Monthly, yearly or lifetime
• Free account: Browse first, no card needed

Where it ranks

Antstream Arcade is No. 7 in our Best Cloud Gaming Services verdict.