Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app
- Apple plans to announce a new gaming app at its Worldwide Developer Conference next week, which will replace Game Center.
- The app will allow users to launch games installed on their devices and access achievements, leaderboards, and editorial content.
- The app is expected to be launched alongside the next version of iOS this September and will feature a similar interface to the Xbox app for iPhone.
- A Mac version of the app will enable users to access games downloaded outside of the App Store, expanding its gaming capabilities.
- Apple has also acquired its first gaming studio, RAC7, which will continue to operate as an independent game studio under Apple’s umbrella.
Apple plans to announce an app focused on video games for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV at its Worldwide Developer Conference next week, according to Bloomberg. The app will let you launch games you’ve installed on your devices and serve as a hub for things like achievements and leaderboards.
Apple is expected to launch its gaming app alongside the next version of iOS this September, Bloomberg reports. It will apparently replace Apple’s Game Center, feature editorial content, and let you access games also available on the App Store. A 9to5Mac report from last year described the app as working similarly to the Xbox app for iPhone.
A Mac version of the new app will let users “tap into games downloaded outside of the App Store,” Bloomberg says.
Bloomberg’s report follows news that Apple bought its first gaming studio. The company confirmed to Digital Trends that it acquired RAC7, the two-person studio behind Sneaky Sasquatch, one of the first games released on its Apple Arcade games subscription service. RAC7 won’t be folding into any other teams at the company, but will instead continue to operate as a game studio all its own, according to Digital Trends.