Popular game engine Unity updated with iOS 7 controller support

13.05.22-Unity

Good news on the iOS gaming front this weekend. Unity, the game engine behind a number of high-profile titles like Call of Duty: Strike Team, The Room and Bad Piggies, was updated to version 4.2.2 yesterday with a number of improvements.

But there’s one particular item in the change log that caught our eye: iOS 7 game controller support. This means that, depending on the speed of each developer, it may not be long before you’re joystickin’ your way through your favorite iOS game…

From Unity’s blog (via MacRumors):

“Like most mobile games developers, we’ve been closely following what important additions and changes the recently released iOS 7 update has made. One of the biggest and most exciting of Apple’s initiatives is the standardization of game controllers for iOS-based platforms. So we’re happy to tell you that, in addition to several important bug fixes for Xcode 5 / iOS 7 (Build&Run, WebCamTexture and status bar), Apple Controller support is included with 4.2.2! This blog post aims to answer most common questions this addition will raise and serve as a short tutorial on how to add support for iOS Game Controllers to your game.”

The rest of the post consists of answers to a number of frequently asked questions regarding the new controller support, as well as a brief tutorial on how to add it. So if you’re a game developer or would just like to read more on the topic, click here.

Logitech gamepad ios 7Alleged leaked photo of Logitech’s MFi controller

A handful of titles have already added controller support, such as The Walking Dead and Bastion, however there aren’t any actual controllers available. Last month, Logitech and ClamCase began teasing gamepads, but there’s been no word on availability.