Apple’s gaming success might look entirely different than you expect

Apple has been accelerating its focus on gaming in recent years, fueled by the era of M-class Mac chips, booming App Store subscription revenue, and Apple Arcade. But there’s another area of gaming effort you may have missed, and it’s continuing to grow at a steady pace: Apple News Puzzles.

The state of gaming at Apple is trending up

Apple’s relationship with gaming is complicated.

On one hand, iPhone gaming is a massive hit, and has been for as long as the App Store’s existed.

Historically, however, the Mac has held Apple devices back from being thought of as AAA game destinations.

Apple silicon is changing that, as more and more console-class titles keep getting announced for the Mac—the latest being Cyberpunk 2077.

Still, Apple’s behind, as most AAA titles are hitting the Mac long after debuting on other platforms.

Apple Arcade is chugging along, helped by its inclusion in the Apple One bundle no doubt.

But I’ve been especially intrigued by Apple’s gaming efforts in another area: the News app.

Try not to laugh.

Apple News, and specifically the Apple News+ subscription service, has been steadily becoming more of a destination for gaming.

Puzzles, the surprising new direction for Apple gaming

Apple launched a Puzzles section in the News app as part of iOS 17. Since then, that section has continued to grow with Apple-designed puzzle games.

• Crossword and Crossword mini were the first daily puzzles added
• this May, Apple brought a new game called Quartiles to the app
• and in iOS 18.2, Sudoku is coming too

Apple is following The New York Times’ very successful playbook of keeping users hooked with games.

Not just games, but daily games that keep drawing you back in.

And while Apple doesn’t release engagement numbers, I imagine that the company’s fairly rapid expansion of Puzzles in News+ over the past year is a sign that these games have been very well received.

I’ve written before about how News+ was one of my least used Apple One services, but my family kept our Apple One Premier plan because my wife loves the daily mini crosswords.

My wife’s not a gamer, but puzzles in the News app drew her in like they’ve done for so many players of Wordle, Connections, and the NYT’s other games.

Should Apple have a better gaming story for Vision Pro? Absolutely.

Do AAA titles on the Mac really matter if they’re years late? Maybe or maybe not.

But the iPhone continues to be a gaming juggernaut in the world, and Apple’s expansion of daily puzzles in the News app are just the latest evidence of that.

Do you play any of the puzzles in Apple News? What do you think of Apple’s efforts there? Let us know in the comments.

Best accessories for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

• MagSafe Qi2 3-in-1 iPhone charger
• AirPods Pro 2
• 100W USB-C power adapter for fast charging
• tomtoc laptop/tablet sleeve bag
• Anker USB-C 8-in-1 hub with Ethernet, HDMI, SD, more