Apple has showcased its new Games app for the first time.
As rumoured previously, the new Games app will be pre-installed on each device, and is designed to be home to players’ game library, social graph and Apple Arcade.
Over a half a billion people play games on their iPhone, said App Store leader Ann Thai as she unveiled the app during WWDC today.
The Home tab shows users a personalised feed of games relevant to their interests based on their playing history, said Thai. Arcade has a dedicated tab, and there’s a Library tab which is home to users’ game downloads, plus Search.
The Play Together tab is the social area where users can see what folks in their friends lists are playing, and there are also achievements-style Challenges to tick off. There are also improvements to Apple’s Game Center software which can automate some community features, said Thai.
In the associated press release, the tech giant described Apple Games as “a new app that gives players an all-in-one destination for their games.”
It continued: “It helps players jump back into titles they love, find their next favorite, and have even more fun with friends. They’ll find out what’s happening across all their games, including major events and updates, so they never miss a moment.”
“The Games app is also the best way to experience Apple Arcade, Apple’s game subscription service with more than 200 award-winning and highly rated games for the whole family.”
Apple also announced its new Metal 4 graphics technology as it talked through improvements to gaming on the Mac.
Elsewhere in its WWDC keynote, Apple revealed its much-rumoured ‘liquid glass’ interface redesign, and changed its iOS numbering system to reflect the year of release, meaning September’s update will be called iOS 26.
