iOS 26 is expected to replace Game Center with a new Games app, but don’t expect it to change Apple’s fortunes in the gaming world.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said earlier that Apple will unveil a dedicated Games app at the WWDC 25, said to boost gaming experiences beyond Game Center, achievements and leaderboards. He has since learned how the app will be structured and what features it will offer, but noted that the software will be “underwhelming.”
“On the heels of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, Apple is hopeful that the new app can make its mobile devices a bigger part of the gaming industry,” Gurman noted on Bloomberg. “But this new app is unlikely to do the trick and is fairly underwhelming.”
Apple’s dedicated Games app is “underwhelming”
Gurman said in his report that Apple will port the built-in Preview app from the Mac to the iPhone and iPad, which will be preinstalled. Another preinstalled app is Games.
“It puts game downloading and access to Apple’s Arcade platform in one place, looking like a games-centric version of the App Store,” he noted, saying there will be five tabs in the app: Home, Arcade, Play Together, Library and Search.
So it looks like the Games app is meant to promote App Store and Apple Arcade titles better than the current Games and Arcade tabs on the App Store. Speaking of which, the Games tab won’t be removed from the App Store after the Games app launches. Gurman said earlier that the new Games app will replace Game Center, Apple’s feature for achievements, scores and leaderboards in games that used to be a standalone app but was folded into the Settings app in 2016.
Aside from the rumored glassy design overhaul, iOS 26 should animate fullscreen album art on the Lock Screen, let you export notes in the Markdown format, poll people in group Messages chats, bring new AirPods features like sleep detection, camera trigger and additional gestures, among other improvements.
iOS 26 preview at WWDC 25
Apple will preview the Games app alongside iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 and its other renamed operating systems during a June 9 keynote at its Worldwide Developers Conference, releasing the first developer preview of the beta software after the keynote has wrapped up.
Versions for public beta testing will be released in July. The general public will be able to install the updates on their devices when they’re released in the fall.