At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple officially introduced the all-new Apple Games app, a dedicated gaming hub designed to bring together a user’s entire gaming experience into one personalized and social destination. The app offers players a central place to rediscover their favorite games, explore new ones, and connect with friends — even turning single-player games into collaborative, challenge-based fun.
The Apple Games app offers a seamless way for users to keep up with their favorite titles, discover new content, participate in real-time challenges, and stay connected to what friends are playing — all from one convenient platform. Whether on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the Games app is poised to enhance the way users engage with mobile and desktop games.
“As my friends have grown up and moved away, I miss hearing about what they’re playing on their phones,” said Zach Gage, indie developer and cofounder of Puzzmo. “The Games app is a great way I can get a window back into their gaming worlds. It also helps us seamlessly integrate and extend the social community features we’ve built directly into the center of our player’s daily play routine.”
“The introduction of challenges and a new social layer marks a major leap forward for both developers and players,” added Glib Platonov, cofounder of Doghowl Games. “While creators stay focused on gameplay, these features bring people together in just a few taps, deepening player engagement — especially important for games like Thronefall.”
“The Games app is going to be a game changer for playing on iPhone, iPad, and Mac,” noted Tim Garbos, creative director and cofounder of Triband. “It makes it easy for us to create moments just for groups of friends. The new challenges feature works great and feels natural for our games on Apple Arcade, including WHAT THE CLASH?, and we’ve been having a lot of fun with it!”
Apple Arcade Integration: A Gateway to 200+ Games
The Games app is the ultimate companion to Apple Arcade, Apple’s game subscription service with over 200 award-winning titles, including favorites like Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Sneaky Sasquatch, and Mini Motorways. Users can explore curated collections that highlight the best Apple Arcade games and get more out of their subscription.
Discover, Launch, and Play with Ease
The app gives players access to all the games they’ve ever downloaded from the App Store for iPhone and iPad and conveniently organizes games installed on Mac. It also supports compatible game controllers, enabling intuitive navigation and quick launch into favorite titles.
Personalized game recommendations surface based on players’ past activity, what their friends are enjoying, and which games support Game Center features for shared play. Curated editorial collections highlight popular and emerging titles on the App Store, such as Balatro, Crashlands 2, and DREDGE.
Social Gaming: Challenges and Friends in One Place
The Apple Games app turns solitary play into social fun with robust Game Center integration. All Game Center friends and multiplayer groups are available in one place, letting players view shared gaming history, compare achievements, and send invite links or party codes through messaging apps to jump into games together.
A major highlight is the introduction of challenges — score-based competitions tailored for small groups of friends. Developers with Game Center leaderboards can integrate these challenges, adding a friendly competitive edge to single-player games.
Players can invite friends to join challenges by selecting them from contacts. Whether competing for the most enemy waves survived in Thronefall or aiming for top scores in Skate City: New York, challenges create new reasons to play and connect.
Real-Time Updates: Stay in the Loop with Live Events
The Games app also empowers developers to keep players informed about the latest happenings in their games. Dynamic game pages feature live updates, in-game events, and other relevant content, personalized for each user’s active titles.
These updates ensure players never miss out on major events or fresh content, keeping them engaged and connected to the games they love. Whether it’s seasonal content drops or community-wide tournaments, updates are prominently displayed so players stay informed and ready to play.
With the launch of the Apple Games app, Apple continues to push the boundaries of how games are discovered, enjoyed, and shared. By blending powerful recommendations, seamless play, and social features, Apple delivers a game-changing experience that turns gaming into a more interactive, dynamic, and inclusive part of everyday life.