Apple’s new Games app: What every growth team needs to know

With iOS 26, Apple introduced a standalone Games app. 

At first glance, it looks like a new home for mobile titles. But beneath the surface, this launch represents something more important: Apple is creating a dedicated distribution layer for games, distinct from the App Store.

A standalone hub for games

The Games app consolidates discovery across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. Where the App Store presents games alongside every other category, the Games app is focused solely on play.

While this new app reframes Apple’s relationship to gaming, for growth teams, this marks the start of a new playbook.

The experience is algorithm-driven. Recommendations adapt to downloads, play activity, and personal interests, reducing Apple’s reliance on editorial teams to push visibility. Social loops are embedded from the start, with challenges and Game Center activities designed to drive multiplayer interaction and re-engagement.

Perhaps most importantly, Apple is positioning iOS devices as console-like machines. With landscape layouts, controller parity, and dedicated cross-device support, the Games app makes the iPad feel closer to a handheld console than ever before.

Discovery inside the Games app

Search in the Games app works differently than in the App Store. 

As of now, there are no editorial collections & no Apple Arcade placements.

Search results also display In-App Events directly beneath the product card, giving titles an opportunity to appear twice for the same query, and get bigger real-estate in Search Result. 

However, the way creatives are displayed shifts significantly. Portrait screenshots appear smaller than in the App Store. Landscape assets are elongated. Videos seem to require 5.5-inch formats rather than the 6.5-inch assets that most publishers have optimized for.

Even the call to action has changed. Instead of a direct “Get” button, users are presented with “View” and must enter the product page before they can download. This adds a small but meaningful layer of friction, and it increases the importance of conversion optimization on the product page itself.

Product pages: Shorter and leaner

The Games app product page is a stripped-down version of what users see in the App Store. Featured reviews, “What’s New,” App Privacy, “Featured In,” and “More by Developer” are all absent. The result is a shorter funnel, with fewer distractions but also less social proof.

One caveat for marketers: Product Page Optimization experiments do not appear in the Games app. This means teams cannot rely on Apple’s PPO framework to test creatives here. If the Games app becomes a meaningful source of installs, testing strategies will need to adapt.

Measurement and analytics

In November 2025, App Store Connect will begin reporting Games-specific metrics. These will include impressions, page views, downloads, opens, and conversion rates. Importantly, new source types will be introduced, including Games Search and Games Browse.

This will finally give publishers the ability to separate traffic from the Games app versus the App Store, and to measure whether the new channel is cannibalizing existing discovery or adding incremental reach. Until then, any optimization effort remains a bet without precise return measurement.

Preparing for the shift

The launch of the Games app requires several tactical adjustments:

• Refresh 5.5-inch video assets and check that their portrait and landscape screenshots hold up under the new layouts. 
• Run In-App Events continuously, both to appear twice in search and to re-engage lapsed users.
• Experiment with Game Center challenges, as Apple appears intent on making these social loops a core part of the Games experience. 
• Metadata and Apple Tags will become even more critical for algorithm-driven discovery. 
• If relevant, showcase iPad & Mac gameplay in creatives including controller use, to signal cross-device legitimacy.

A workflow for November and beyond

Once Games analytics go live, growth teams should build a recurring workflow to spot opportunities, benchmark against competitors, and adapt creatives. Here’s how to:

1. Start with your subcategory

Navigate to your game’s subcategory in the Games app and review the top-ranking titles. This is your immediate competitive set.

2. Check what events are live

Identify which competitors are running In-App Events. Note frequency, themes, and timing. Are they seasonal, challenge-based, or tied to content drops?

You can use Mobile Action In-App Event discovery to explore what others are doing and get inspired. Go to App > In App Events > Pick App Events Tab & Add your Competitors to see Live Events or explore Ended Events to get inspired.

3. Audit creative choices

Pay attention to the videos and screenshots competitors are using. Are they optimized for the smaller portrait display or elongated landscape? Do they highlight iPad and controller play?

4. Cross-reference with metrics

Use App Store Connect to track whether your Games impressions and downloads spike during certain types of events. Compare your results to competitors’ visible activity.

5. Feed learnings back into your roadmap

Maintain an IAE calendar that stacks overlapping events. Refresh creatives where you see competitors outperforming. Treat this as an ongoing cycle rather than a one-off check.

This workflow has the added benefit of giving you a constant stream of creative inspiration. Even if you can’t replicate a competitor’s exact strategy, monitoring their IAEs and creative rotations will help you refine your own positioning inside the Games app.

What this means for discovery

The question remains: will the Games app shift discovery away from the App Store? 

The answer is likely gradual rather than absolute. 

The App Store will remain the entry point for casual users. But the Games app is designed to capture attention and time spent, not just transactions. It will reward publishers who feed it with ongoing events, challenges, and social engagement.

The winners in this new environment will be those who approach their App Store presence as if it were a console storefront. That means designing for discovery, optimizing for algorithm-first feeds, and marketing with the Games app as a parallel funnel rather than an afterthought.

This is clearly Apple repositioning iOS as a gaming platform. For the first time, Apple is treating games as more than just another App Store category.

With MobileAction, you can track In-App Events, benchmark your game’s visibility, analyze creatives that dominate discovery, and measure real competitive impact across both the App Store and the Games app. 

Book a demo with our experts today and start building data-driven strategies that help your game stand out in this new environment.

About the author

Julie Tonna is an iOS Growth Consultant and the Founder of NeoAds, helping mobile teams scale their growth through creative strategy and App Store optimization.

Subscribe to her latest insights on Substack to stay ahead of the evolving mobile app marketing ecosystem.