Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple is developing a new gaming app that’ll function across its ecosystem of products.
- The app is expected to be preinstalled on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs later this year.
- It’ll rival Google Play Games and will launch games, centralize user activity, record achievements, show leaderboards, enable player communication, and more.
Apple is reportedly planning to launch a dedicated gaming app across its ecosystem, marking its most serious push into gaming in years. The app is expected to be preinstalled on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs later this year, and will act as a central hub for gamers, replacing Game Center, an app that iOS users didn’t really care for.
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s new gaming app will launch games and centralize user activity, achievements, leaderboards, communications, and more. It will also include editorial content and App Store gaming highlights and promote Apple Arcade, the company’s $6.99/month gaming subscription service. It will even support third-party titles downloaded outside the App Store on Macs, a very rare move for Apple.
Should Google be worried?
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
Google has long depended on Android’s open ecosystem to attract gamers and developers, but its own Play Games app, which would be the closest rival to what Apple is building, remains fragmented and disorganized.
Users constantly report issues with game progress syncing, achievements, leaderboards, and more between Play Games on mobile and PCs. Game publishers also offer their own accounts, cloud saves, and social features, making Play Games less important.
These issues could very well happen with Apple’s new gaming app as well, but if the Cupertino company can offer a more cohesive and polished experience, Google may have to rethink its approach to gaming.
Google certainly has all the ingredients to compete with Apple.
Google certainly has all the ingredients to compete with Apple, including a sizeable install base for Play Games, cloud gaming partnerships, an expanding library of games, and the power of Android OEMs constantly building gaming-focused hardware. However, its dedicated gaming app currently lacks finesse. If Apple’s new gaming app succeeds, it could pressure Google to reimagine Google Play Games.
Meanwhile, Samsung also offers its own Game Hub, but it only helps with game discovery and stores all installed games in one place. It lacks additional features like cloud saves, achievements, etc. Perhaps Samsung will also rethink its strategy depending on how users receive Apple’s new app.
That said, early testers of the app don’t believe it will dramatically shift perceptions right away. According to Bloomberg, they doubt the new software will suddenly make gamers or high-end developers see Apple as a major force in the gaming world. The app is expected to launch alongside iOS 19 and the new iPhone lineup in September.
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