Apple will try again with the Games app to turn an Apple device into a fully-fledged gameevice. Apple has already made several attempts in the past, but it remains looking for them. The Games app for iPhone, iPad and Mac bundles all game experiences together into a place for all your games, performance and friends.
The new Games app comes from iOS 26, iPados 26 and MacOS Tahoe to iPhone, iPad and Mac and replaces the old Game Center. From the app you can view all your games on your device, start, keep track of performance, meet game friends and more.
Games app from Apple
The brand new Games app acts as a central hub for all your games, in which titles from the App Store, Apple Arcade and your entire playing history come together in one well-arranged library. You will find personalized recommendations there, you can easily return to recently played games, and you have direct access to your entire collection.
The app also shows all previously downloaded games, even if they are no longer on your device. The app contains separate tabs for Home, Apple Arcade, Library and Play together, and makes it possible to quickly search for new games or updates of your favorite titles.
The social functions, compared to Game Center, are greatly expanded. So you see some friends playing in real time, inviting them directly for multiplayer game or challenging them to improve your score. In addition, you can easily view each other’s performance via integrated leaderboards and victories.
With the Games app, Apple offers for the first time a fully-fledged, all-in-one game experience that fully replaces Game Center and puts discovering, sharing and playing games together within the Apple ecosystem
View all your games
The main objective of the Games app is an overview of your entire game library and the games that are present on your Apple device. This way you can see all the games that you have ever downloaded in the App Store or have played in with Apple Arcade. You can see at a glance when you last played certain games, including the games on your other Apple devices.
In addition, the Games app is the perfect place to discover new games. This way you will see recommendations on the home tab based on what you have played and suggestions from editors with the most popular games that can be found in the App Store and/or Apple Arcade.
More attention to Apple Arcade
In the Games app, Apple Arcade gets a prominent and separate tab, making it easier to discover and play the full range of this subscription service. Apple Arcade subscribers will find a well-arranged tab in the app where they have direct access to more than 200 exclusive and advertising-free games. This arcade section is specially designed to facilitate the discovery of new titles, with editorial collections, personalized recommendations and quick access to your favorite games. The search and filtering has also been drastically improved and it is better to discover new titles.
Gaming together
All your Game Center friends and groups appear in the ‘Gaming’ tab. Immediately you can see which games you have played together, what your friends play, what goals you have achieved and you can invite each other to play together in multiplayergames or participate in competitions.
New are ‘challenges’, a way to compete with your friends and to see who is getting the highest score. Developers who have added Game Center-Leaderboards to their games can add challenges for smaller groups of friends. Thanks to challenges you can also take it against your friends in Single-Player games. This way you can form groups in more ways, determine who is the best and ask for a resit.
Game overlay for Mac and iPad
With the new game overlay for Mac and iPad you can quickly adjust your system settings, chat with friends or invite friends to play-without stopping gaming. On your MacBook or iPad you can also activate the energy saving mode, so that you can gaming longer if there is no socket nearby.
Finally, navigate easily through the app with a compatible game controller and dive into your games. This not only works on the Mac or iPad, but also on an iPhone. You can read back below how to link a game controller to your Apple Device.