iPhone GamingBuddy: Discover new games, track your collection, widgets & more

[nemecek_f]

Hello,

I am super happy to introduce my newest app for gamers everywhere who look forward to new games or want to quickly glance at what is coming out.

The app "GamingBuddy" features a curated list of upcoming games, an "Upcoming" list that lists all future games (if they have a release date), and there is also a search to find games quickly.

With GamingBuddy you can:

• Stay up to date with new game releases
• Check OpenCritic scores & read reviews before you buy
• Track your games (backlog, wishlist, played, etc.)
• Follow major gaming events like Gamescom & The Game Awards
• Add countdown widgets to your Home Screen for upcoming releases
• Discover new games based on your interests
• Search the entire IGDB database for any title
• Share game details with friends using universal links
• View Best Games by year thanks to OpenCritic integration
• Watch latest trailers directly in the app or with Picture-in-Picture.

Initially I built these features for my SwitchBuddy app, but many folks got in touch and wanted to have widgets for all upcoming games, not just those coming out for Nintendo Switch.

What is the main difference compared to other "game tracking" apps?​

GamingBuddy is primarily about discovery and keeping you informed. Whereas other tracking apps usually start totally empty and you need to search, GamingBuddy shows relevant games (with optional platform filtering) for you. With the featured games list it is super easy to know what big titles are coming soon.

Notifications​

You can get notifications when your favorite game is available, when gaming showcase starts or even when it happened recently so you can view all the announcements. GamingBuddy will also notify you about release date announcements (when your favorite game is "TBD" or just "Q4" and gets exact date, the app will tell you).


Most of the app is totally free. There is limit on number of games you can "Favorite" and some data like reviews for individual games + some more advance widgets require Unlimited membership. Otherwise, there is an "Unlimited" subscription currently priced at 9.99$ /year or 0.99$ /month. You can also get the one-time purchase.

GamingBuddy is available on the App Store.

EDIT AUG 3 2024: Renamed the app from "Game Widgets" to "Gaming Buddy"

I tried creating "showcase video" that shows just a few way how you can discover new games to play with GamingBuddy. I am definitely FCP noob, so feedback on the video also welcome

 

[pacorob]

It looks really nice.
Some questions:

1) What kind of platforms will be supported? Is iOS/iPadOS also one of them?
2) Will it also be possible to filter on platform + pay once (so without in-app purchases with gems/coins) / except for ones where you buy the full game or remove ads (without a subscription) by paying once with an in-app (or upfront).

 

[nemecek_f]

It looks really nice.
Some questions:

1) What kind of platforms will be supported? Is iOS/iPadOS also one of them?
2) Will it also be possible to filter on platform + pay once (so without in-app purchases with gems/coins) / except for ones where you buy the full game or remove ads (without a subscription) by paying once with an in-app (or upfront).

Thanks!

1) iOS for now. I would love to support iPad but for a hobby project that adds a lot of work and the demand is quite low.
2) Filtering based on platforms is available on the "Upcoming" screen. You can select multiple platforms and then see only games that will come out for these platforms. As for the "one-time unlock" it is not there yet, I have this option in SwitchBuddy but it isn't popular and it is also hard to come up with one-time price that is fair both to the users and the developer.

 

[pacorob]

Thank you for getting back to my response I really appreciate it.
I meant as far as the games to filter on if you can select iOS/iPadOS also as the only platform for expected games?
As far as your app supporting tablets isn't nowadays making it 'Universal' as easy as Apple mentions it I suppose?

 

[nemecek_f]

Thank you for getting back to my response I really appreciate it.
I meant as far as 1 the games to filter on if you can select iOS/iPadOS also as the only platform for expected games?

Sorry, I am not sure what you mean exactly. The filtering currently does not work "app-wide", only for the Upcoming list. Unfortunately it also looks like IGDB doesn't really have a good support for iOS games as I can see only handful with the filter on.

As far as your app supporting tablets isn't nowadays making it 'Universal' as easy as Apple mentions it I suppose?

Well it is easy to make it run on iPad, but it needs lot work on the layout to make it look good + other technical aspects.

 

[pacorob]

Thanks for letting me know the IGDB database you use in your app doesn't have good support for iOS games.

 

[nemecek_f]

Already released a couple of updates

- Landscape support for images & videos for better viewing experience
- Smaller variant for "Up Next" widget that shows single game

- Platforms filter should no longer reset - sorry about that
- Design tweaks and similar
- Fixed widgets not removing unfavorited games
- Fixed pull to refresh on "Upcoming" screen

 

[nemecek_f]

Excited to announce first BIG update!

It mainly brings notifications - the most requested feature 🎉

# Notifications
You can now set up notifications for game releases. And thats not all, you will also get a notification when your favorite game gets a release date

# Themes
Purple might not be for everyone. That's ok! You can now personalize the app and widgets with themes like "Green X", "BlueStation", sunset and more.

## Themable countdown widgets
The countdown widgets now have configurable background. So instead of the previous blurry background, you can choose the app theme or just "plain".

## Add to calendar
Easily create calendar events for your favorite games

 

[nemecek_f]

Renamed the app to "Gaming Buddy" to make it clear that this is not only about widgets but mainly about discovering new games to play.

Bigger update coming soon with Lock Screen widgets and list that shows recent releases.

 

[nemecek_f]

Happy to announce the next big update

New Releases​

- Easily view (and filter) newly released games in a new list

Lock Screen widgets​

- The Up Next and Release Countdown widgets are now also available on your Lock Screen

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello,

back with another couple of updates. I have added more options to unlock GamingBuddy Unlimited with either monthly subscription or one-time purchase based on requests from users.

Just released version 1.4.0 also brings OpenCritic integration allowing you to quickly see the ratings games got from critics. GamingBuddy Unlimited also contains all the available reviews to read. (I made part of OpenCritic paid because the API access is not exactly cheap).

 

[nemecek_f]

Finally fixed the most annoying thing for me - the inability to share games I found with friends.

Introducing sharing powered by Universal Links - share games with a single link. Your friends don't even need to have the app installed.

https://apps.apple.com/app/game-widgets-get-hyped/id6447783408

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello everyone,

I am happy to announce new public TestFlight:

https://testflight.apple.com/join/Qcvvxa4r

It is for version 2.0 which brings better Favorites section (on its own tab) and "Reviews" tab which lists most recent reviews from large publications (IGN, GameSpot,..)

Because it is a TestFlight you can also try all the premium features for free. Just complete the purchase flow which won't charge you anything.

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello,

happy to share that Version 2.0 is finally out.

- Favorites on separate tab with "Up Next" queue to make sure you don't miss releases

- Brand new Reviews tab featuring recent reviews from the biggest names in gaming like IGN, GameSpot and others.

- Featured Up Next widget for GamingBuddy Unlimited. This one shows the soonest games from "Featured" list

‎GamingBuddy: Discover & Track

‎Gamer's companion & calendar With GamingBuddy you can: - Keep up with new releases - See OpenCritic scores & read reviews - Track your games (backlog, wishlist, ...) - Follow gaming events (Gamescom, awards etc) - Add countdown widgets to your Home Screen - Discover new games to play - Search...

apps.apple.com

 

[nemecek_f]

The one-time purchase is 50% off until November 28th 🎉

So if you wanna get a good deal and support my efforts, now is a good time.

I will also be raising the yearly price from the "intro" $4.99 to a bit more to reflect all the new features added since launch.

‎GamingBuddy: Discover & Track

‎Gamer's companion & calendar With GamingBuddy you can: - Keep up with new releases - See OpenCritic scores & read reviews - Track your games (backlog, wishlist, ...) - Follow gaming events (Gamescom, awards etc) - Add countdown widgets to your Home Screen - Discover new games to play - Search...

apps.apple.com

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello there, back with another update!

This one is bigger and introduces gaming-related events like showcases, awards and more.

Press release: https://impresskit.net/press-release/76849bff-9b4e-4f73-a925-5134b3339c03

 

[nemecek_f]

New update is out with better notifications and Favorites section 🎉

## Customize favorites
View your favorites as list or grid and change sorting

## Better release dates notifications
GamingBuddy will let you know when favorited game is delayed (or will release sooner)

UI tweaks, better errors when something goes wrong, bug fixes

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello,

after some time I have new TestFlight build available that brings better design for the Reviews nad Gaming events sections + quite a bit of smaller stuff.

TestFlight - Apple

Using TestFlight is a great way to help developers test beta versions of their apps.

testflight.apple.com

Also as part of the Indie App Sales, the first year is currently 50% OFF -> https://apps.apple.com/redeem?ctx=offercodes&id=6447783408&code=INDIESALE

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello, the biggest update just launched. It makes the app a lot more useful.

Get it here -> https://apps.apple.com/app/game-widgets-get-hyped/id6447783408

## GamingBuddy Levels Up

### Full IGDB integration
Keep track of your entire gaming library with complete IGDB integration. The new Search works directly with IGDB to open access to all games from the database.

### Categorize your games
You can now assign favorited games into categories, like Backlog, Wishlist, Playing & more.

### IGBD PopScore
Discover even more games with PopScore lists! See which games are currently being played, what's most wishlisted and more.

### Design improvements
The new design isn't just for the design's sake. The app should be easier to navigate, the lists show more relevant information...

 

[pacorob]

Still hoping you can create a separate game launcher app for iOS / iPadOS to use with iOS / Netflix / Apple Arcade and such games and create your own game lists and launch them from your app with controller support for e.g. BackBone One controller. The official Backbone app still lacks the option to create your own gamelists in their app.

 

[nemecek_f]

Still hoping you can create a separate game launcher app for iOS / iPadOS to use with iOS / Netflix / Apple Arcade and such games and create your own game lists and launch them from your app with controller support for e.g. BackBone One controller. The official Backbone app still lacks the option to create your own gamelists in their app.

I am not sure what you mean? Why not launch the games directly from Home Screen or the App Library? Thanks.

 

[pacorob]

I am not sure what you mean? Why not launch the games directly from Home Screen or the App Library? Thanks.

I mean a game launcher app. Launch games from one place in a nice UI horizontally / landscape with scrolling through my games with my controller is so much more nicer then holding it vertically every time you switch between games. A sort of one stop shop for my own games.

I've managed to create a list of my (offline) games working with the Razer Nexus app that also works with my Backbone One controller which appear at the top of the UI. You can also remove quite a few things from the app like promoted apps although you can't remove all things. It only lacks some final things:
- launching games with the buttons on the controller, you still need to tap on the screen to launch a game (which is not as ideal since in the Backbone app you can do this)
- it doesn't seem to work with games that have been removed from the App Store and some of the emulators (RetroArch, Delta)
- return to the app with the Backbone button on the controller to the Razer Nexus app

 

[nemecek_f]

I mean a game launcher app. Launch games from one place in a nice UI horizontally / landscape with scrolling through my games with my controller is so much more nicer then holding it vertically every time you switch between games. A sort of one stop shop for my own games.

I've managed to create a list of my (offline) games working with the Razer Nexus app that also works with my Backbone One controller which appear at the top of the UI. You can also remove quite a few things from the app like promoted apps although you can't remove all things. It only lacks some final things:
- launching games with the buttons on the controller, you still need to tap on the screen to launch a game (which is not as ideal since in the Backbone app you can do this)
- it doesn't seem to work with games that have been removed from the App Store and some of the emulators (RetroArch, Delta)
- return to the app with the Backbone button on the controller to the Razer Nexus app

I see now. This feels kind of like a different app though. The main challenge would be to opening the games from other app, if they don't offer URL scheme to open them, I don't think there is another way to do so.

No to mention the App Store has rules agains "other app stores" which they might feel like such app would be sort of emulating the store in a way...

 

[pacorob]

I see now. This feels kind of like a different app though. The main challenge would be to opening the games from other app, if they don't offer URL scheme to open them, I don't think there is another way to do so.

No to mention the App Store has rules agains "other app stores" which they might feel like such app would be sort of emulating the store in a way...

Besides app URL schemes there is also the option to use Apple Shortcuts app to launch app although less ideal.
The majority of apps (games) do have the option to launch with an URL scheme though.

Earlier this year Apple did open up for third party App Stores outside of the Apple App Store (AltStore, Epic Games Store, SetApp, Aptoide, Mobivention app marketplace and expected Microsoft Xbox Games Store) to be used on iDevices. Besides that we do have apps in the App Store that use the App Store but build proper filters and collection options that the official App Store is lacking such as active communities such as AppRaven, PutApp and more outdated apps: InstlApp, Appspree, Applook.

Backbone must have somesort agreement as well with Apple that they can actually launch games with using the touch screen 'open app' functionality but just using controller buttons to open the app.

 

[nemecek_f]

Hello, I am back with another big update. Version 3.2 brought new ways to discover games, improved Favorites screen and most important "Best Games" list powered by OpenCritic. This section lists the very best games released since 2016.

Here are the official release notes:

3.2.0: New big update is here!

## New ways to discover games
- Best Games: All the "Mighty" games from OpenCritic since 2016
- Browse by Game modes and Genres (sorted by newest first)
- View games in a franchise
- View DLC and bundled games on detail screen
- Details about developer/publisher + ability to view their games

## Favorites improvements
- Ability to filter visible games by platforms
- Icons to see which games are upcoming
- "Activity" screen to track your game progress (days since started playing etc..)
- Easier way to move games between categories on detail

## Improved release dates info
The app now also supports other statuses like "Early Access", "Beta" etc. The detail shows releases for your platforms and you can open new detail view to view all release information.