Apple removes Game Center app from iOS 10 and macOS Sierra betas

OS X El Capitan Game Center icon full size

Apple has removed the Game Center app from the first betas of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra. The change appears to be permanent, according to the iOS 10 Preview release notes. Although it’s still available in Settings, “the Game Center app has been removed,” reads the document.

That doesn’t mean that developers can no longer use the Game Center service or implement Game Center features—quite the contrary—it’s just that the user-facing Game Center app is no longer available.

Aside from removing the Game Center app, other changes in the refreshed GameKit framework include support for iCloud-only game accounts, a new solution for managing persistent storage of data on Game Center, implementing Game Center features through GameKit and other tidbits.

If a game wants to show Game Center leaderboards, achievements and other data to the user, it must now implement a custom user interface via GameKit.

What about a dedicated Turns tab in the now defunct Game Center app? Well,
multiplayer game sessions, according to Apple, can often “replace existing turn-based matches, real-time matches, and persistent save games, and also enable other models of interaction between participants.”

In addition to these changes, Apple’s software platforms now support ReplayKit live streaming of game sessions and games can support up to four game MFi controllers at the same time.

Furthermore, tvOS 10 now allows MFi game controller-only games on the Apple TV.

Source: Apple