Way back in August of this year, Apple started promoting in-app events hosted within the App Store. It’s a quick and easy way for developers to show off high-profile elements within their apps, including in-game competitions, content premieres, and much more. At the time, it was expected that the feature would go live alongside the public launch of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. However, that did not turn out to be the case. But Apple’s finally ready to welcome the feature and launch it to the public.
In a quick developer update released today, Apple confirmed that in-app events will go live within the App Store beginning next week. According to Apple, in-app events will go live on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. That’s two days after the launch of macOS Monterey, which is set to go live for the public on Monday, October 25, 2021. Or at least sometime soon after that. In today’s update, Apple reiterates the shining feature of in-app events, telling developers they’ll be able to let customers know right from their app or game’s landing page in the digital storefront of upcoming events. So if the developers are hosting a competition in a game? They can promote that. An upcoming movie premiere in something like HBO Max? In-app events will make it obvious what’s coming down the pipe.
Developers can schedule their first in-app events right now, via App Store Connect.
Per today’s developer update:
Starting next week, your in-app events can be discovered right on the App Store, giving you a whole new way to showcase your events and expand their reach. You can now create in-app events in App Store Connect and schedule them to appear on the App Store. These timely events, such as game competitions, movie premieres, and livestreamed experiences, can encourage people to try your app, provide existing users with new ways to enjoy your app, and give former users reasons to return. Events will appear on the App Store on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 starting October 27, 2021.
App Store events sound like they should be a welcomed addition for developers, especially those who have a lot of different kind of special events going on in their apps on a semi-regular basis. Games like Pokémon Unite, for instance, or the still-popular Pokémon Go. There should be plenty of events to see within the App Store, and it will be interesting to see how this impacts users and how they interact with the new feature once it goes live later this month.