Despite iOS 8 having already been discussed at length at WWDC in June, Apple gave us a further taster of the upgraded OS at it’s iPhone 6 event yesterday.
As frequent mobile gamers, one of the things we’re most excited about is the new graphics engine within iOS 8; entitled Metal.
According to Apple, games on iOS 8 will look even better due to the high-end graphics capabilities of Metal. With bigger screens and better hardware, the mobile gaming experience on an iPhone 6 will undoubtedly offer an upgrade over other devices. Meanwhile, Apple’s new SceneKit and SpriteKit framework promises better 2D and 3D rendering and more efficient battery power for gaming.
MOBA title VainGlory was used to show off the improved looks of Metal on the iPhone 6 yesterday and it certainly looked smooth and detailed. Not to mention the fact that it will be one of the first Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games for mobile devices.
VainGlory was demoed on the iPhone 6 at Apple’s event
Major publishers such as Gameloft, EA, Rovio, Disney, Square Enix are also confirmed to be creating games for iOS 8. Whether these will just be upgraded versions of existing titles such as Modern Combat 5 and Final Fantasy V or completely new games, remains to be seen.
Additionally, popular engines such as Unreal and Unity are also onboard with Apple’s new OS. Developers currently working on new titles for the iPhone include CD Projekt Red, Vector Unity, NaturalMotion Games, and VainGlory creator Super Evil Megacorp.
Chris Kingsley, Co-founder of mobile games developer Rebellion, told Develop the following about iOS 8: “We’re excited to be working so closely with Apple’s technology in our Asura Engine as it will empower us to code to the metal, remove some of the main rendering bottlenecks and bring even better looking, more immersive games to iOS devices.”
However, tweaking games for different sized displays also brings its fair share of challenges. iOS 8 will soon be available to select iPhone owners (it will only work with models 5, 5S, 5C, 6 and 6 Plus) on 17 September, closely followed by the release of the new iPhones on 19 September.
Then begins the wait for the new games. To get you in the mood for all the great mobile games coming to iOS 8, check out an official trailer for VainGlory below:
