Simon's Cat - Blast Time adds 200 new levels on Apple Arcade

Apple has confirmed a rather large update for Simon's Cat - Blast Time, the match-3 puzzle game developed by UK studio Tactile Games in partnership with Simon Tofield, creator of the Simon's Cat franchise. Starting August 20, 2026, the title will receive 200 new levels, rolled out in weekly batches of 50 over the course of a month. Apple announced the update as part of a broader August lineup refresh for its Arcade puzzle catalog. 

The game originally launched on Apple Arcade in April 2021 under the name Simon's Cat: Story Time before later being rebranded as Blast Time, and its App Store listing already advertises more than 8,000 match-3 puzzles.

Weekly rollout and garden progression

Rather than releasing all 200 levels at once, Tactile Games is spacing the content out weekly, starting August 20 and continuing into September. Each new batch gives players fresh match-3 puzzles to work through, with progress feeding into the game's wider structure: completing levels earns stars and coins that go toward restoring the game's secret garden areas and advancing its ongoing story, in which Simon and his cat help neighbors uncover a hidden ancestral connection buried beneath the community's gardens.

As with all Apple Arcade titles, Simon's Cat - Blast Time carries no ads and no in-app purchases, so the full level expansion is included at no extra cost for subscribers.

Part of a wider Arcade puzzle push

The update lands alongside other changes to Apple Arcade's puzzle lineup this month. On August 12, Lykke Studios' puffies. added 28 new sticker packs, including two collections themed around Oden Tomodachi and The Knights. Later in the month, on August 26, Lykke Studios' other puzzle title, stitch., marks a different milestone: the embroidery-puzzle game reaches 800 unique hoops, celebrated with a special commemorative hoop and an in-game achievement.

Apple also confirmed further additions arriving on September 3, including Block Blast!+ and Art of Fauna: Cozy Puzzles+, which will join existing Arcade puzzle titles such as Grindstone, Flow Free+, and Crossword Jam+. Apple Arcade remains available for $6.99 a month in the US, with a one-month free trial for new subscribers.