Over the past few years, Apple has been building a reputation for gaming on its devices. Mac gaming has finally taken off, and the iPhone has become an incredibly popular handheld for gamers of all types. Now, it looks like the company may be taking things a step further with an all-new app that acts as a gaming App Store of sorts.
According to a “reliable source familiar with the matter” cited by 9to5Mac, Apple plans to release a new app that “combines the functionality of the App Store and Game Center in one place.” This allows you to download games, discover new titles, and send messages to your friends in-game.
9to5Mac reports that the app will feature a “Play Now” tab with “editorial content and game suggestions” from both the App Store and Apple Arcade. The new app includes information about challenges, leaderboards, achievements, and upcoming game events, and also integrates with your existing Game Center profile. Developers may also be able to use App Clips to distribute minigames.
This article compares Apple’s gaming app and Microsoft’s Xbox app for iPhone. The Xbox app lets you set your status, see your friends’ activity, discover new games, browse your game library, and more. The idea is that it could be a gaming hub that integrates features found in several of Apple’s other apps.
Discord’s new rival?
One interesting feature mentioned by 9to5Mac is the ability to potentially rival Discord, a chat and calling app that is very popular with gamers. The report states that Apple is “experimenting with some kind of integration with FaceTime and iMessage in new gaming apps, perhaps to aid player-to-player communication.”
Apple has experimented with a variety of gaming strategies over the years, the most notable of which is Apple Arcade. With this subscription service, you can pay $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$9.99 per month to access a large library of ad-free games that work on multiple Apple devices.
However, despite its promising premise, Apple Arcade never really caught on or attracted AAA titles to its roster. That’s probably because all of the company’s games have to work on a variety of Apple products, from iPhones to Macs. Not being able to optimize for Apple’s more powerful systems will inevitably limit what you can do with games, which isn’t good news for Mac gamers.
However, it looks like the gaming app unearthed by 9to5Mac will be a different beast. Providing a native way to communicate with other gamers may be its trump card, but whether it can convince people to quit the incredibly popular Discord app is another question.
It’s unclear if the app will be limited to iPhones or if it will also be available on other devices such as Macs. However, 9to5Mac notes that it’s unclear whether Apple will release this as part of a future iOS 18 update or save it for iOS 19, suggesting it will at least be coming to Apple’s mobile devices. says. Either way, it could help strengthen Apple’s position as a company that takes gaming increasingly seriously.
