Mobile GamesNews
Introducing the 2026 Apple Design Award winners
Join us in celebrating these extraordinary apps and games. Meet the 2026 Apple Design Award winners
Apple Developer News1 min read
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Mobile GamesNews
All systems glow
WWDC26 is just one week away. Get ready for five days of technology, creativity, and community — all online and free. Learn more
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesRelease
Get ready with the latest beta releases
The beta versions of iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6, macOS 26.6, tvOS 26.6, visionOS 26.6, and watchOS 26.6 are now available. Get your apps ready by confirming they work as expected on these releases. And make sure to build and test with Xcode 26.5 to take advantage of the advancements in the latest SDKs. View downloads and release notes Learn about testing a beta OS Learn about sending feedback
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesNews
Upcoming changes to age ratings in Australia and Vietnam
Starting June 18, 2026, age ratings on the App Store will be updated in Australia and Vietnam. Australia The 15+ age rating will no longer be available on the App Store in Australia. Apps currently rated 15+ with the following content descriptors will be updated to 16+: Unrestricted web access Frequent medical or treatment information Loot boxes The new rating will appear on your app’s product page in Australia. Please ensure your responses to the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect accurately reflect your app’s content. Vietnam To align with Article 38 of Vietnam Decree 147, apps available on the App Store in Vietnam will require a region-specific age rating. Based on your age rating questionnaire responses in App Store Connect, your app will receive one of four ratings (00+(all ages), 12+, 16+, or 18+) which will appear on its product page in Vietnam. Additional details, including age rating values, will be available in App Store Connect and App Store Connect Help on June 18.
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesNews
Introducing the 2026 Apple Design Award finalists
Every year, the Apple Design Awards recognize innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design. But they’ve also become something more: A moment to step back and celebrate the work of Apple developers across the community. Meet this year’s finalists
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesNews
Coming bright up
Get ready for a week of technology, creativity, and community — all online and free. Here’s what WWDC26 has in store. Learn more
Apple Developer News1 min read
ProgrammingNews
Hello Developer: May 2026
In this edition: Meet inspiring developers, advocates, and educators. Prepare your app for Accessibility Nutrition Labels. Meet the team behind the stylish open-world adventure Infinity Nikki. Get the most out of your Apple Developer account. Update your Intel-based Mac apps to Apple silicon. Read now
Apple Developer News1 min read
ProgrammingRelease
Get the most out of your Apple Developer account
A free Apple Developer account provides access to the tools, resources, and support you need to build and test apps and games. A free developer account is separate from an Apple Developer Program membership. Even if your organization holds the paid membership, creating your own free account gives you direct access to downloads and support resources. Don’t have an account? To create your Apple Developer account, sign in to your Apple Account. If you don’t have an Apple Account, you can create one during Apple Developer account registration. Sign in > What you get: Access beta versions of Xcode and Apple operating systems: Test your apps with upcoming features and API changes before release. Betas allow you to submit feedback and ensure your app works on day one of each new OS release. And you can test your apps directly on your own devices. With Xcode beta versions, you have access to the complete toolchain to explore new SDKs, test enhanced APIs, and debug compatibility issues using the latest development tools and simulators. Learn more about Xcode > Learn more about Apple beta testing software > Meet with Apple: Attend developer events that take place in person and online all year long. Events range from design workshops on UI/UX best practices to technical deep dives on frameworks and business sessions about App Store optimization. Sign up for developer activities > Apple Developer Forums: Join the forums to ask questions and share knowledge with developers worldwide. The forums cover specific frameworks and technologies, serving as a space to troubleshoot issues and share code samples. Browse the forums > Help shape the platform: Report bugs and submit feature requests with Feedback Assistant. File detailed reports with sample code, crash logs, and reproduction steps. Request new APIs or suggest enhancements. Some of the tools you use today started as developer feedback. Download Feedback Assistant > Looking for more? An Apple Developer Program membership unlocks all the resources and support you need to build, test, share, and distribute apps and games. Integrate Apple services: Configure your app with powerful features like the Foundation Models framework, CloudKit, MusicKit, and Apple Pay. Beta test at scale: Use TestFlight to distribute beta builds to up to 10,000 external testers before your public release. Unlock exclusive opportunities: Access more in-person Meet with Apple events and WWDC activities, including one-on-one appointments with Apple experts. Distribute worldwide: Publish your apps and games on the App Store and grow your business. Easily share with people in 175 countries and regions and 50 languages. Offer content and services for purchase: Help make purchases effortless in your app or game using Apple In-App Purchase, with secure authentication, and over 200 payment methods supported globally. Learn more about membership > Keep in mind: As always, you can explore Apple Developer videos, documentation, tutorials, sample code, API references, and the Human Interface Guidelines without an Apple Developer account.
Mobile GamesRelease
Brazilian betting license requirement for App Store availability
Following changes to Brazil’s fixed-odds betting regulation, apps with fixed-odds betting (gambling) features can now be distributed on the App Store in Brazil with a valid fixed-odds betting license from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) . If any of your apps include these features (indicated by selecting “Yes” to the gambling question in the age rating questionnaire in App Store Connect), you’ll need to provide this license. Keep in mind that answering “Yes” to the gambling question in the age rating questionnaire will set your Brazil age rating to A18. A new app version must be submitted to initiate the license verification process. Updating the App Review Information section in App Store Connect alone won’t start a review. When submitting a new version of your app for review: Include your license information in the App Review Information section in App Store Connect. Enter your license details in the Notes field. Attach any supporting documents using the file attachment field. Please ensure that your app complies with all disclosures and warnings requirements, including but not limited to age restrictions and gambling risks, as required under the law. For questions regarding your legal obligations, please contact your legal counsel. Learn more about Brazil age ratings Learn more about Brazil’s fixed-odds betting regulation
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesNews
To those who build community
All around the world, Apple developers do meaningful work that extends beyond great apps and games. They organize events, write tutorials, mentor others, and create spaces to learn and grow. By sharing their expertise and championing each other, they represent the best of the community. Meet some of the inspiring people who are making a difference in the Apple developer community through technical contributions, thoughtful mentorship, and a commitment to helping others succeed. Meet the community >
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesRelease
Now Available: Monthly Subscriptions with a 12-Month Commitment
Today, we’re introducing a new way that people can pay for your auto-renewable subscriptions on the App Store: monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment. This new payment option allows you to offer subscribers more affordable options. People can cancel their subscription at any time, which will prevent the subscription from renewing after they’ve completed their agreed-to payments to fulfill their commitment. To provide transparency, people can easily view the number of completed and remaining payments for the subscription in their Apple Account. Apple will also send email and, if opted in, push notifications ahead of their renewal date to remind them of their upcoming purchase. You can now configure this type of subscription in App Store Connect and test it in Xcode. With the exception of the United States and Singapore, monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment will be available worldwide to people on iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, or later, with the release of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 in May. Learn about configuring subscriptions Learn about auto-renewable subscriptions
Apple Developer News1 min read
Mobile GamesTutorial
Lykke Studios: In pursuit of puffy perfection
The delightful game puffies. combines the satisfying snap of a jigsaw puzzle with the nostalgic delight of a sticker book. This 2025 Apple Design Award finalist for Inclusivity is brimming with virtual puffy stickers, the sort that ’80s kids would slap on their binders or trade at recess. Players tear open themed packs of vibrant, kitschy decals — maybe punk-rock capybaras, maybe sporty sushi rolls — and place them on a blank sheet so everything fits without overlapping. The stickers are rendered with such accuracy that players can almost feel the slight give of their glossy surfaces under their fingertips — and the gentle haptic “blop” that accompanies each placement is supremely satisfying. Those sensations are no accident: puffies. developer Lykke Studios spent months fine-tuning these small moments. puffies. Available on: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV Team size: 8 Based in: Thailand and Cyprus Download puffies. from Apple Arcade > “We always start with a material that we like,” says Lykke Studios founder Jakob Lykkegaard. For the company‘s 2023 Apple Design Award winner, stitch. , that material was thread woven into whimsical embroidery puzzles. For their 2022 Apple Design Award finalist, tint. , it was watercolor paint on thick, textured paper. When the team began brainstorming the project that would become puffies. , they set their sights on a jigsaw-style experience that would feel natural on touchscreens. Their eureka moment was landing on puffy stickers as the puzzle pieces; they’re tactile, nostalgic, and far more interesting to look at than a lone jigsaw piece. And then it all blew up. “Because of the game physics, our first prototypes pretty much exploded,” laughs Lykkegaard. Every one of the game’s 4,000 stickers is a 3D-modeled object that’s beholden to the game’s physics engine — and early tests proved they did not play well together. Once the team figured out how to stop pieces from ricocheting around the virtual tabletop, they turned to the problem of what should happen when a player tries to place one sticker on top of another. Is that something that comes up a lot during play? Not really. Did they spend months perfecting it anyway? Absolutely. Lykkegaard recalls discussing the optimal outcome of this sticker-on-sticker scenario with the team. “Does it stick where it’s at? Does it slide down? And if it slides down, in what direction, and at what speed?” he says. They ultimately decided to simply have the sticker zip back to the edge of the puzzle where it came from, but “it’s not inaccurate to say we spent three months on this,” says Lykkegaard. “We scrapped the entire code base and started over again until it felt right.” That pursuit of perfection is threaded throughout the game’s design. The cutouts around each sticker were drawn by hand because automated tracing looked too sterile. Tilting a device causes a subtle parallax effect on a sticker’s vinyl surface, as though it were catching the light in the room. And the team iterated endlessly on snap distances — how close a piece needs to be to its proper spot before it will gently click into place when released — down to the last pixel. “Players can feel it subconsciously,” says Tanin-Andre Hohmann, producer at Lykke Studios. “They may not know it, but they say, ‘Oh, I like this more.’ And then if you ask why, they’re like, ‘I don’t know, really. It just fits better.’” That best-it-can-possibly-be philosophy also extends to the game’s art. From cute cactus creatures to anthropomorphic toilet plungers, puffies. stickers are brought to life by talented illustrators around the world. “It’s literally the artist’s art,” says Hohmann. “We wanted it as unfiltered as possible.” The game also benefits from its home country. While the Denmark-born Lykkegaard and many of his teammates hail from Europe, Lykke Studios is based in Phuket, Thailand — far from stuffy boardrooms and packed conference halls, close to a slower pace of life and easygoing creativity. “I tend to like coming into the bubble of the Bay Area or Europe, exploring things, and leaving that bubble again,“ says Lykkegaard. “And then having an unlimited amount of time to think and come up with new ideas.” That unhurried mindset can be felt in the puzzles themselves. Each sticker-sheet level is painstakingly designed by hand — no algorithms, no automation. Timers and “game over“ screens aren’t a thing in puffies. ; difficulty comes entirely from how many stickers are in the pack the player chooses. And to ensure larger puzzles don't overwhelm players on smaller devices, the camera gently zooms in to frame the area where the current handful of stickers belongs. Accessibility follows the same no-compromises logic. Players can enable more generous snap distances, toggle sticker-placement outlines, and use a finger-offset option that accommodates reduced motor function — or just very large hands. The guiding principle is simple: If a player comes up with a valid barrier the team hadn’t considered, and it’s feasible to fix, the team adds a solution. The cost of all this craft? Time. Thankfully, the team’s previous successes have given them the freedom to polish their games without rigid milestones. But even so, is it worth it? To obsess over squish and snap, to tune the “rip” of opening a sticker pack, to jettison heaps of code because a few interactions don’t feel perfect? “There are many things in the game that nobody will ever see, that we put energy into just because we know it’s there,” says Lykkegaard. “And that makes us proud.” Keep reading Developer stories explore best practices and philosophies from some of the most inventive developers in the Apple community. In each story, we go behind the screens with developers, designers, and engineers to find out how they brought their remarkable creations to life. Browse all developer stories >