Apple to launch dedicated gaming app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV in June

Apple plans to release its own dedicated gaming app shortly after the Nintendo Switch 2's launch, sources tell Bloomberg.

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Apple's gigantic $14.8 billion gaming empire has been jeopardized by recent court rulings; first in the Epic v Apple case, which found that Apple's App Store policies were anti-competitive, and then a federal judge found Apple's post-trial conduct to be in clear violation of an injunction order. Apple has also recently been found to have violated the Digital Markets Act by the European Commission.

It's fair to say that Apple's role in being a passive gatekeeper that rakes in billions upon billions of dollars a year via fees is over. A new era of gaming at Apple may be on the way (the company did recently just buy its first games studio), and now Apple will launch a centralized gaming app that aims to bring its content and services in one place.

Sources tell Bloomberg that Apple's new gaming app will be revealed at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9, which is just days after Nintendo will launch its new Switch 2 console. The app will be available on all of Apple's devices, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

The app itself is believed to be a one-stop shop for gaming on Apple devices, including a dedicated App Store storefront presence where users can buy games.

Apple Arcade, the $7 per month games subscription, will also be included in this dedicated app.

There will also be a kind of social news update pane that gives info on the games themselves. From the sound of it, the Apple app seems to be a combination of the eShop, the recent Nintendo Today! app, and direct access to subscription-based games in one package.

It's unclear what kind of partnerships Apple may have made to secure more high-profile games for its app, and to potentially offer lucrative multi-year deals with developers to keep companies from steering consumers away from purchases off of the App Store.