Game Center, Apple’s social gaming app responsible for handling global high scores and multiplayer games, looks set to disappear completely after a frustrating year filled with various bugs and issues.
Though it wasn’t mentioned in the WWDC keynote, it has since become clear that Apple plans to kill off Game Center with the release of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra this Fall. Developers have noted that the app is missing from the Home Screen on the iOS 10 beta, and Apple’s release notes back this up, stating simply that “the Game Center app has been removed.”
How will this affect my games?
The good news is that it looks like the GameKit framework will live on behind the scenes, allowing games to continue to support leaderboards and multiplayer functionality. We may see some changes to how this is presented, however, with the standalone Game Center interface about to go permanently AWOL.
How will you compare scores with friends without Game Center?
For most people, this is unlikely to be a big deal – when was the last time you opened the Game Center app? – but it does mark the end of a few features. Currently the Game Center app is a central hub allowing you to handle friend requests, accept challenges and see an overview of your all-time point scores. Whether these functions will remain and in what form isn’t yet clear, but Game Center has been living a charmed life for a while now and users probably won’t be sad to see it go.
Looks like goodbye to Game Center the app, hello to Game Center the service.