Latest news with #AppleArcade
Stuff.tv
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
What I think the Apple Games app needs to work – and why it won't
The rumour mill is frothing about a dedicated Apple games app. Which, given Cupertino's dearth of app-naming imagination, will presumably be called Apple Games. After hastily rebuilding an office wall I blew down due to sighing so heavily on hearing this news, I figured I should at least consider how Apple could make this work. And why it won't. Because Apple. Clearly, Apple Games would be intended as a statement, to convince gamers, developers and even Apple itself that the company is a market leader in this space and serious about games. Despite years of evidence to the contrary. It would also be a combination of launcher, games discovery engine, friends hub and leaderboards. Which sounds a lot like Game Centre, a once standalone app Apple forgot about and left broken for six months, before taping it back together and burying it so deep inside its operating systems that it now only appears when you sacrifice a ZX Spectrum on the night of a blood moon. But, hey, Apple rakes in huge sums of cash from App Store games and services like Apple Arcade. So if Apple wants to make Apple Games work, here's the minimum that it needs to do. 1. Nail the basics Achievements. Leaderboards. Social features. These aren't bold innovations in gaming. They're the bare minimum. If Apple execs rock up on stage and even remotely infer Apple invented any of these things, we should riot. 2. Highlight controller support It's 2025. If a fancy new Apple Games app can't say whether Lara Croft: Guardian of Light will work with my Gamesir G8 or Backbone, it's already failed. Just like the App Store, which will, bizarrely, instead denote the game's position on the UK App Store Action chart, as if I or anyone else cares. Great until you stick your iPhone in one and realise the Home Screen is still in portrait orientation. 3. Add landscape support Any iPhone in a controller means landscape orientation. That grinds against Apple's portrait-mode iPhone app obsession, but I don't want to crane my neck 90 degrees to launch a game, like I currently have to when using the iOS Home Screen. 4. Embrace openness (LOL) Someone may have to break it to Apple execs that Apple Arcade isn't all of gaming. Gamers should be able to pin and rapidly access third-party games – and ideally even tap into Steam, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Antstream Arcade. Otherwise Apple Games will be little more than an Apple Arcade app wearing comedy spectacles and a fake moustache. 5. Recommend good games Apple editorial too often highlights IAP nightmares over legitimately good games, for some reason. No, hang on, for this reason: money. But gamers hate all that even more than 20-minute unskippable cutscenes. So: surface genuinely and objectively great games. Get smart game journos to help if need be. Easy. 6. Not get bored after 11 seconds The big one. Apple has a bad track record with its own apps. Many launch in a blaze of glory, only to be caked in cobwebs a year later. If that's Apple Games (as it was for Game Centre) , I'd sooner Apple would permanently leave its gaming ambitions in another castle. Why Apple Games will fail Even if Apple ticks a few boxes, it probably won't tick enough. Because there's no sense of gaming spirit, drive and commitment at Apple's highest levels. Games are seen as cash generators, not culture. They're benchmarking tools, rather than experiences – a way to show off the power of a new iPhone or Mac before quietly forgetting games exist for another year. I'd love to be wrong. But when I yet again hear Apple is getting excited about games, I get a pang of hope that's instantly, mercilessly crushed under a 20-tonne weight of reality and history. So I want Apple Games to thrive and for this to be the year Apple finally cracks gaming. But I think there's more chance that 2025 will be the year of Linux on the desktop.
Man of Many
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Man of Many
The Best Ways to Game on a Mac
By Dean Blake - News Published: 30 May 2025 |Last Updated: 29 May 2025 Share Copy Link Readtime: 8 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. Look, we've all heard the jokes. Gaming on Mac is definitely not as easy, robust, or well supported as on almost any other system, especially when compared to gaming on Windows, but I'm a firm believer in using what you've got. If you want to kill some time and already own a Mac, there are plenty of fantastic games you can run natively, and even more you can get going with a little bit of technical know-how or a can-do attitude. I'd never tell you to buy a Mac for gaming, but as a secondary feature it can be surprisingly robust. The easiest way to game on a Mac would be to launch the App Store and pick something from there. It's literally pre-loaded onto every computer that Apple launches, and the games featured there are optimised very well to run on MacOS. If you're looking for a bigger range of options, or even to play games that aren't supposed to run on your laptop, though, you've come to the right place. Here, we'll outline the options you have to get the most out of the surprisingly powerful piece of Apple Silicon sitting inside your computer. Assassin's Creed Shadows | Image: Ubisoft Apple's App Store and Apple Arcade As I said above, it's incredibly easy to just open the App Store and browse the list of games available for download. An issue with the App Store, though, is that any purchase you make on that storefront is locked to the Apple eco-system. This is fine if you're a diehard Apple user, but if you even glance at a different OS you'll be starting from scratch again. It's also worth noting that games, on average, tend to be more expensive through the App Store. Still, App Store games are often compatible across MacOS, tvOS, iOS and iPadOS, so if you're living in that world you'll get quite a bit of potential play across multiple devices. Here are some of the best games available on Apple's App Store: Plus, Apple launched its own game subscription service in 2024, Apple Arcade, which costs AUD$9.99 per month and gives you access to over 200 games to play across each of your Apple devices. It's definitely not a bad deal, and there are some great games in there, but you'll need to go digging past a lot of chaff to get to the wheat. Here are some winners on Apple Arcade for your consideration: MacBook Air (2025) playing Tunic through Steam | Image: Dean Blake/Man of Many Third-Party Options: Steam, Epic, GOG, and Game Pass Now we get to the meat. As with any other PC, you can download third-party storefronts onto a Mac and get access to a far wider range of games. Not every game on these storefronts are Mac compatible – in fact, most aren't – though you'll usually be warned before buying something incompatible with whatever system you're browsing on. Still, it's worth taking a look at the major storefronts out there and what they bring to the table. Steam is, hands down, the biggest gaming service in the world right now. When people brag about PC gaming, they're usually talking about Steam, and it's just about the best place to buy Mac games as well. Here, you'll find the biggest range of games available for purchase and play, as well as frequent flash sales. There are plenty of games available on Steam for Mac, which makes it a fantastic place to start building a collection. If you're coming from a Windows PC, think you might build a gaming desktop, or are dreaming of grabbing a gaming handheld at some point in the future, Steam will probably be a cornerstone of your gaming experience. The Epic Store, on the other hand, has far fewer Mac-centric games, and it's big hitter, Fortnite, isn't available on most Apple devices thanks to the company's ongoing lawsuit with Apple. I'm sure it'll get there eventually, and Epic definitely worth keeping an eye on for monthly freebies and a bunch of exclusives that you can't get on Steam (though those are rarely Mac compatible), but it's unlikely to serve as the backbone of your gaming world just yet. If you're more interested in older titles, GOG, or Good Old Games, could be the best port of call. It's a far smaller operation than either Steam or Epic, and is run by the folks over at CD Projekt Red: the developer that brought you The Witcher III and Cyberpunk 2077. GOG is focused on delivering both new and old games, and tends to be more interested in giving you those games in a DRM-free manner, meaning you can buy the game and own it on your hard drive rather than needing a third-party launcher to access what you've paid for. You can use its launcher, GOG Galaxy, if you prefer though. Plenty of games that would otherwise have been lost to time have ended up available on GOG, and there are a lot that will work well on any modern Mac. Finally, there's Xbox's streaming service, Xbox Game Pass, which allows anyone with a subscription to stream available games to whatever device they're using: yes, including your Mac. You can potentially get access to a much wider variety of games using Game Pass than any of the above options, since technically they don't need to run on Mac for you to access them, but it comes with the downside of streaming the games to your laptop, rather than running locally. This does mean the quality of the gameplay will be partially dependent on whatever internet you're hooked up to, and can lead to lag spikes and dropped connections in the worst-case scenario. However, if you're playing stuff that doesn't require fast reflexes, Game Pass is a very solid and easy option to get running. Image: Rockstar Games CrossOver, Wine, and Whisky Heres the complicated part. Yes, there are plenty of games that aren't compatible with MacOS—but what if I told you that you actually could play them on your Mac with a little bit of tinkering? Programs like CrossOver, Wine, or Whisky create a compatibility layer that essentially force a third-party storefront to think it's running in Windows. It doesn't always work perfectly, and you might need to do some troubleshooting to get games running well, but you'd be surprised how well you can get even relatively new titles running on modern Macs with a bit of elbow grease. Getting these programs working is pretty simple, but it can definitely appear complicated at first blush. You need to install the program itself onto your Mac (I've used Whisky, you might prefer a different one), and then use it to install a Windows version of whichever programs you want to run – likely Steam, Epic, GOG Galaxy, or more a specific game executable. You'll have to make sure you've downloaded a Windows-specific version of the program. Once you have the program you're after installed through that translation program, you have a version of Steam (or whatever program you want to run) on your Mac that thinks it's running in Windows. There's a lot of black magic happening in the background to make this work, but the important part is that it actually does work, and it's completely legal. Using this method, you can get games that aren't otherwise able to run on a Mac doing so. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remake, or any of the Dark Souls series will run well, though Elden Ring can be a bit hit or miss depending on your expectations. Now, a M4 Max-equipped Mac Studio isn't going to be delivering resolutions or frame rates equal to incredibly expensive gaming PCs, but you'd be surprised how well many games can play on a system it was never optimised for. Plus, an incredibly expensive gaming PC is probably about 10x the size of a Mac Studio. If you're interested in knowing a bit more about how best to get stuck into gaming on a Mac, there's a slew of topics over on the r/macgaming subreddit that can help you figure out what works and what doesn't – plus, you can always ask for advice if you get really stuck. God speed!
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Microsoft launches Xbox Copilot beta on Android app to assist gamers with real-time support
Microsoft has launched the beta version of its new AI assistant, Copilot for Gaming, through the Xbox mobile app on Android. This tool aims to support Xbox players during gameplay by providing help and insight on a separate screen, without interrupting the game. The feature offers text and voice chat capabilities, which allow users to ask questions, get suggestions, and check account details without pausing their play. Currently, Copilot for Gaming is available in over 50 countries, including the U.S., India, Japan, Australia, and Singapore. It supports only English and is restricted to players aged 18 and older. The assistant does not run directly on the Xbox console but operates via the Xbox app on smartphones or tablets. This setup ensures it stays out of the way while remaining accessible as a companion tool. Also read: PlayStation Days of Play Sale: Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarök, and more games get big price cuts What Players Can Do with Copilot Players can use Copilot to ask for help with game challenges, seek tips for achievements, or find information about their gaming history. It can also provide account updates, such as subscription status or gamer score details. Copilot combines data from a user's Xbox activity with public information accessed through Bing, aiming to deliver personalised responses beyond what typical FAQs or online searches offer. In its beta phase, Copilot handles tasks like offering game-specific tips, summarising achievements, recommending new games, and answering account-related questions. Players can type or speak commands such as 'What was my last achievement in Starfield?' or 'When does my Game Pass Ultimate renew?' The assistant aims to make help easily available so players do not need to switch screens or browse external websites during play. Also read: Mafia: The Old Country releasing on 8 August, 2025: Here's everything you need to know How to Join the Beta Moreover, Microsoft plans to expand Copilot's capabilities. Future versions may support voice interaction across devices, offer real-time coaching for multiplayer games, integrate with Xbox consoles and the Windows Game Bar, and provide deeper personalisation based on player behaviour. Additional language support is also expected. Also read: Apple Arcade to add UNO: Arcade edition, What the Car? and more in June game lineup To try Copilot for Gaming on Android, users can download the beta Xbox app from the Google Play Store. iOS users will receive access soon. Once inside the app, the Copilot feature appears under 'More Options.' Microsoft encourages users to provide feedback by rating responses or reporting errors within the app during this testing period. First Published Date: 29 May, 16:41 IST
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Apple has bought a game studio for the first time
is buying a game developer. The company has purchased RAC7, makers of Sneaky Sasquatch. This is the first time in Apple's history it has purchased a game maker. Apple is wading even deeper into the deep end of gaming. The tech giant, for the first time in its history, has bought a game developer, acquiring RAC7, a two-person team behind the Apple Arcade hit Sneaky Sasquatch. 'We love Sneaky Sasquatch and are excited that the 2-person RAC7 team has joined Apple to continue their work on it with us,' Apple said in a statement to Fortune. 'We will continue to deliver a great experience for Apple Arcade players with hundreds of games from many of the best game developers in the world.' Apple, for years, kept a distance between itself and games, even as electronic entertainment proved to be one of the most popular categories in the app store. In 2019, it launched Apple Arcade, a library of over 200 ad-free games, which currently costs $6.99 per month. Still, though, it steered clear of making the games itself. Among the launch titles was Sneaky Sasquatch, and the game's popularity has never wavered. Players play as Bigfoot, tiptoeing around the forest in stealth mode, eventually learning to drive cars, disguise themselves and ski, while avoiding capture. Apple's purchase follows similar moves by Netflix, which has been expanding its presence in the gaming world and purchasing game studios. The reason for the land grab is exactly what you would expect. There's big money in mobile games. A 2024 report from NewZoo found mobile gaming revenue accounted for about half of all gaming revenue in 2023, totaling nearly $90 billion. Games also keep people's attention focused on their screens and can build brand loyalty (just as Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft can attest). By increasing its focus on gaming, Apple could further lock customers into its ecosystem, ensuring they upgrade their device rather than switching to a Samsung or other Android phone. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Apple buys its first-ever video game studio; promises to deliver ‘great experience' for Arcade
has acquired RAC7, the two-person video game developer known for the Apple Arcade hit Sneaky Sasquatch. This marks the Cupertino-based tech giant's first-ever acquisition of a video game studio. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Apple has described this move as a unique situation, indicating a specific interest in RAC7's work. The studio's previous credits include indie titles Dark Echo and Splitter Critters. In 2019, RAC7 released Sneaky Sasquatch as an Apple Arcade exclusive. The adventure game emerged as a notable success among the service's launch titles and has received consistent updates since its release. With this acquisition, the RAC7 team will now continue its partnership with Apple as an internal studio, with Apple promising to deliver a "great experience for Apple Arcade." What Apple said about acquiring its first-ever video game studio In a statement to Digital Trends, an Apple spokesperson said: 'We love Sneaky Sasquatch and are excited that the 2-person RAC7 team has joined Apple to continue their work on it with us. We will continue to deliver a great experience for Apple Arcade players with hundreds of games from many of the best game developers in the world.' Apple's acquisition of indie studio RAC7 is not part of a broad new gaming strategy but rather a specific opportunity to expand Apple Arcade's offerings, the report claims. Apple plans to continue working with a range of third-party studios, both large and small, to develop games for the service. While the deal may seem unexpected to those not closely following Arcade, it fits within the platform's existing model. Earlier, Apple Arcade Senior Director Alex Rofman highlighted Sneaky Sasquatch as a standout title whose popularity extends to real-world events like birthday parties. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Since its launch in 2019, Arcade has relied on a select group of indie developers—such as RAC7, Lykke Studios, and Triband Games—to release new titles each month. Recent additions include a fresh Katamari Damacy entry, a sequel to Space Invaders: Infinity Gene, and Gears & Goo for Apple Vision Pro. Despite RAC7's purchase being an isolated case, it underscores Apple's ongoing support for its subscription gaming service . This call will steal your money: "Family Scam" working & how to protect yourself!
