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iOS 26's Rumored Games App Described in More Detail in New Report

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iOS 26 is rumored to include a new Games app on iPhones, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has now provided more details about it.

Apple-Arcade-Sneaky-Sasquatch.jpg

In a lengthy report outlining his WWDC 2025 expectations today, Gurman revealed that the Games app will have five tabs: Home, Arcade, Play Together, Library, and Search. He said that the app will look like a games-centric version of the App Store, and it will give a bigger spotlight to both App Store games and Apple Arcade games.

There will still be a Games tab in the App Store, according to Gurman, who described the new Games app as "underwhelming."

Gurman previously said that the Games app will replace Apple's longstanding Game Center feature, which lets players track their in-game achievements and compete with others on leaderboards. Game Center used to be a preinstalled app on iPhones, but it was relegated to the Settings app starting with iOS 10 in 2016.

The new Games app will be one of two new preinstalled apps on iOS 26, with the other being Preview for managing PDFs, according to Gurman.

Article Link: iOS 26's Rumored Games App Described in More Detail in New Report
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/06/ios-26-games-app-details/
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Previewing PDFs was something I didn't expect. I assume this is the game manual. As long as GTA 6 comes out for the MacBook Air running natively with good performance, I am ok with this Games app.
 
Makes total sense for me as every time I open the AppStore I am very confused by the presence of the Games/Arcade tabs in the bottom, it just doesn't belong here. They did the same years ago by pushing Podcasts from iTunes to separate app (I wish Amazon Music would learn how to do the same with their app).
 
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Apple already tried the gaming arcade thing before and it never ends well. Are they just out of new ideas over there at Apple? Clear house with that software department and get some REAL talent in there.
 
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AppleFan91 said:
Man, wwdc has me a little worried. Seems like the majority of this will be ignoring the elephant in the room and instead showcasing a new coat of paint.

Can we get split screen on iOS? A better keyboard, etc?
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Not sure which of the several elephants in the room you are referring to, but I’m hoping for an announcement/demonstration re: their progress with regard to Private Cloud Compute. Expect a Q3 launch, so iPhone 16 gets it before iPhone 17.

On the Games app — isolating games could be the foundation of a future change in how they tax the revenue of game developers.
 
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BornAgainMac said:
Previewing PDFs was something I didn't expect. I assume this is the game manual. As long as GTA 6 comes out for the MacBook Air running natively with good performance, I am ok with this Games app.
Click to expand...
The Preview application from the Mac is coming to iOS, it won't be part of the Games app.
 
This is actually my most anticipated and hyped feature. I’ve been sending Apple feedback for years wanting something like this. I hope it’s good.

I game almost exclusively on Apple, even though I own a PlayStation. Vision Pro changed the way I game. I stream both my iOS and Mac devices to it for butter smooth gameplay and use Game Center as my main game tracking and achievement system.
 
damienDevZ said:
This is actually my most anticipated and hyped feature. I’ve been sending Apple feedback for years wanting something like this. I hope it’s good.

I game almost exclusively on Apple, even though I own a PlayStation. Vision Pro changed the way I game. I stream both my iOS and Mac devices to it for butter smooth gameplay and use Game Center as my main game tracking and achievement system.
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sarcasm?
or are you serious?
 
Le0M said:
sarcasm?
or are you serious?
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Serious. I’m currently playing Death Stranding, RoboCop, and WUWA on my Mac streamed to my Vision for a screen 4x bigger than my actual TV. Sometimes when I get to work, I pick up Death Stranding on my phone and continue on where I left off on my Mac.

Still working on completing Sniper Elite 4 and excited for Cyberpunk and Sniper Elite 5 coming to Mac.

On my iPhone, I’m currently playing Chrono Trigger, Trials of Mana and others. When I’m at home, I stream them to my Vision and when not, I can just play on my iPhone.

My friends and I compete on Game Center it’s all around a very good experience.

I have access to all PlayStation and Xbox games and even PC games, but since getting my Vision I just find myself almost exclusively gaming on Apple instead of anything else.

Just like it more.

My one complaint is that App Store isn’t competitive with sales.
 
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There are good games on the App Store, but they’re usually cutesy physics games or puzzlers. There is no standout game after all these years, surprising considering handhelds 30 and 35 years ago had games that you can really get into and play for hours - no ads or in-app purchases needed.

Where are the official iPhone controllers and decent developers?
 
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damienDevZ said:
Serious. I’m currently playing Death Stranding, RoboCop, and WUWA on my Mac streamed to my Vision for a screen 4x bigger than my actual TV. Sometimes when I get to work, I pick up Death Stranding on my phone and continue on where I left off on my Mac.

Still working on completing Sniper Elite 4 and excited for Cyberpunk and Sniper Elite 5 coming to Mac.

On my iPhone, I’m currently playing Chrono Trigger, Trials of Mana and others. When I’m at home, I stream them to my Vision and when not, I can just play on my iPhone.

My friends and I compete on Game Center it’s all around a very good experience.

I have access to all PlayStation and Xbox games and even PC games, but since getting my Vision I just find myself almost exclusively gaming on Apple instead of anything else.

Just like it more.

My one complaint is that App Store isn’t competitive with sales.
Click to expand...
People don’t get it unless they live in it. These experiences aren't for core gamers but they fill enough of a gap for the bazillions of people who are not. I get similar comments all the time where people are aghast that a Mac and iPad are my primary gaming devices but that’s because they’re sort of people who own all the major consoles and have decent GPUs. For me I have plenty of games to access on a Mac versus the time I actually have to play them. And the GameCenter feed lets me keep up with my young kids which we all enjoy.

It’s no mystery why Apple devices are such good casual gaming devices under those circumstances.

I do agree with Gurman though if Apple is deluded enough to think this will be enticing to the larger core gamer group. It’s miles away from that
 
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Waiting to see this in the coming week. Hopefully the redesign will be good. Arcade needs many more good quality games.
 
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