what's new in games

At WWDC 2024, Apple introduced several exciting updates and tools for game developers:

1. Gameporting Toolkit 2: This updated toolkit helps developers bring advanced games to Mac, iPad, and iPhone more efficiently. It includes improved compatibility with technologies like AVX2 and advanced gaming features like ray tracing. The toolkit also provides helpful code examples and supports debugging and profiling of HLSL shaders in Xcode. This makes it easier to port games from Windows to Apple platforms and optimize them for performance (Platforms State of the Union).

2. Unified Metal Shaders: Developers can now compile their shaders once and deploy them across macOS and iOS, simplifying the development process. Metal device initialization is also unified, and the device certification API allows scaling game configurations based on device performance profiles (Port advanced games to Apple platforms).

3. Game Mode on iOS: iOS 18 introduces game mode, which reduces background activity and Bluetooth latency, improving input and headphone responsiveness. Developers can opt into game mode by adding the GCSupportsGameMode key in their iOS info plist (Port advanced games to Apple platforms).

4. VisionOS Enhancements: VisionOS 2 includes new APIs for spatial barcode scanning, low latency external camera streaming, and more. These updates enable specific workflow use cases and enhance the gaming experience on Vision Pro devices (Platforms State of the Union).

5. TabletopKit: This new framework helps developers create social games that users can play together. It integrates with familiar frameworks like Group Activities, RealityKit, and SwiftUI, making it easier to develop engaging gameboard experiences (Platforms State of the Union).

6. Bringing iOS Games to VisionOS: Developers can enhance their iOS games for VisionOS by adding stereoscopy, head tracking, and other immersive features. This allows games to take full advantage of the spatial computing capabilities of Vision Pro (Bring your iOS or iPadOS game to visionOS).

Relevant Sessions

• Platforms State of the Union
• Port advanced games to Apple platforms
• Bring your iOS or iPadOS game to visionOS

These updates and tools are designed to help developers create and port high-quality games across Apple's ecosystem, leveraging the latest advancements in Apple silicon, Metal, and VisionOS.