A long-standing bug in Game Center that renders many games unplayable has reportedly been resolved in the latest public beta of iOS 9.3.2.
Game Center for iOS is a necessary component of many turn-based multiplayer App Store titles, which rely on Apple's social gaming network to enable gamers to invite friends, start multiplayer matches, and compete for high scores.
The bug, which first appeared in iOS 8, affects many popular games of the sort and involves the Game Center app launching as a white screen, crashing games to a white screen, and/or the Settings app freezing when Game Center's options are selected.
MacRumors sister site TouchArcade, which has a thread in its forums discussing the bug spanning over 75 pages, now notes that the 'white screen of death' bug appears to have been resolved, although given the long-standing nature of the problem, gamers remain understandably wary.
Well, community members of ours who are brave enough to install beta iOS system updates have reported that Game Center is once again working for them in the iOS 9.3.2 beta. Now, before getting too excited, it's important to have a hefty dose of realism with all this: The Game Center bug is a vicious beast, and many people on our forums have thought they slayed it, only to have it return inside of a couple days. I'm cautiously optimistic, but by no means ready to strike up the band and declare the Game Center bug fixed.
The latest posts on the forum thread suggest that Apple's latest beta has resolved the problem for many affected users, although claims of official confirmation from Apple that the bug is fixed remain unsubstantiated.
Apple released the first beta of its upcoming iOS 9.3.2 update to public testers last Thursday, just a day after seeding the beta to developers.
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 9.3.2 update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.
Top Rated Comments
(It's actually been good to me the past half year or so.)
Game Center was supposed to be Apple's answer to Xbox Achievements. However, as with so many Apple services, they just released it with a lot of marketing hype only to let it fade into obscurity.
Obscurity? It's functionality for gamers—not a PR push. Gamers demand achievements, high score tracking, and turn notifications. GC offers developers a ready-to-go way deliver those features, among others. GC is used constantly and heavily, by numerous titles.When it has bugs they need to be fixed, but it certainly didn't "fade into obscurity."
(Interesting that so many people are posting about the app, which this article is not about. It's about the service impacting games, which is far more important than the rarely-needed central app.)
I'm surprised it took Apple this many months to fix it. I first read about this on TouchArcade and the iOSgaming subreddit around Christmas time.