Inside iOS 10: With Game Center app gone, invites are managed by Messages

Beginning with iOS 10, Apple's Game Center service will no longer have its own dedicated application. Instead, actions like adding friends or inviting them to a game will be handled by individual games themselves, routed through Apple's expanded Messages app.

As detailed by Apple at a session during its Worldwide Developers Conference last week, games will have access to new tools for inviting friends to multiplayer games via the Messages app.

Apple told developers that those already using existing Game Center invitation APIs won't need to make any code changes for iOS 10. Messages-based invites will automatically replace the old method of inviting friends to play, and anyone can be invited via the Messages app and iCloud.

In one demonstration, Apple software engineer Megan Gardner showed a player sending an invite to play the popular title "Doodle Jump." The invitation was sent as a "rich link" attachment in an iMessage to another iPhone user, with the option to add additional text to the message.

Invitations can be sent to players saved in a user's contacts, recent players who were seen online, or nearby players on a local network playing the same title. Players with legacy Game Center accounts will also receive notifications from Messages-based invites.

For users on iOS 10, once a Game Center invitation has been received in Messages, tapping on a rich link will take the user directly into the game. If they do not have that particular title installed, the link will instead open the game's listing on the iOS App Store.

In addition to new ways of inviting players, Game Center has also added support for Apple Watch and watchOS 3.

Game Center management within apps has allowed Apple to get rid of the dedicated Game Center app starting with iOS 10. The multiplayer gaming network has had its own standalone app on iPhone and iPad since 2010.

For more, see AppleInsider's ongoing Inside iOS 10 series. iOS 10 is currently available to developers for beta testing, and will be finalized for a free public launch this fall.