From time to time, Apple tries to push its platforms as a serious place of play. If the latest report by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg is correct, the company will try this year with the launch of iOS 19, macOS 15 and its other annual operating system updates.
According to the report, Apple provides for a preinstalled game application dedicated to iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple TV. The application will make its debut at WWDC on June 9 and will take place on these devices with iOS 19 and MacOS 15 (or a subsequent update) later this year.
The application will offer editorial content on new games (similar to what you find in the App Store today), access to the Games section of the App Store and Apple Arcade, and will centralize all the things currently managed by Game Center, such as lists of friends, achievements, rankings and communications. The mac version of the application would be able to “draw from the games downloaded outside the App Store”. This probably means that it will serve as a launcher for these games and that the basic identity / achievements / classification functions will be available for developers via APIs, even for games distributed outside the App Store.
Apple recently bought the Rac7 studio games from two people, including Sneaky Sasquach was an Apple Arcade launch title. It is not clear if it is the first of many acquisitions such as an attempt for Apple to build a large studio of first party games, but that is not talking about the types of premium games that stimulate sales of PlayStation, Xbox or Switch Consoles. Rather, it indicates a reader for more mobile games, an area in which Apple is already dominant.
To gain respect for the so-called “AAA” game developers, publishers and players, Apple will have to do much more than installing a game application on its devices. We learn more about Apple's game ambitions at WWDC on June 9, when the application and its features would be revealed.
