I’m running into unexpected problems with the Unity GameKit plugin setup with the new Activities. I didn’t see anyone else mentioning these issues, so my guess is that it’s a problem with my setup.
The authentication (GKLocalPlayer.Authenticate()) works as expected, but any call to the new GameActivity functionality (e.g. GKGameActivityDefinition.LoadGameActivityDefinitions() or GKGameActivity.WantsToPlay) gives me an exception with a 'UnsupportedOperationForOSVersion' reason despite it running on an iOS 18.6.1 device.
I’m using a completely empty Unity 2022.3.62f1 project that only contains the official authentication example, followed by an event handler for activities from another example and the Unity core and gamekit plugins.
The setup:
macOS 15.6
Xcode 26 beta 6 (also tried with 5)
Physical iPhone device running iOS 18.6.1
Unity 2022.3.62f1, which satisfies the requirements
Unity plugin, Xcode setup, and build steps:
I Followed the official beta branch build steps for Unity plugins with python3 build.py -m iOS iPhoneSimulator macOS -p Core GameKit which ran through after a slight modification for the macOS target that somehow contained an unknown team reference for the GameKitWrapper project, which I changed to not reference a team and use ‘sign to run locally’, as was the case for the other packages. As far as I understood the macOS version is not strictly necessary either way just for running it on a local iOS device(?)
I Imported these as tarball packages into the empty Unity 2022.3.62f1 project as per the official instructions, which seems to work as expected
Added a single script with the mentioned example code added in a MonoBehavior.Start
Building in Unity works as expected as well, creating the Xcode project
The Unity-iPhone target has the GameKit framework linked (’do not embed’) and the GameCenter capability was added automatically as expected
The GameKit framework seems to not be added to the UnityFramework target, but I don’t think this is necessary? Quickly testing this with the GameKit framework added there as well didn’t make a difference
The linked GameKit framework is indeed the expected Xcode 26 beta version
I can then build and run this on the physical iPhone iOS 18.6.1 device, where I get an ‘UnsupportedOperationForOSVersion’ as soon as I try to subscribe to deeplinking events (GKGameActivity.WantsToPlay) or use other GameKit Activity functionality from the official examples:
// log showing that it's actually running on iOS 18.6:
[Apple.Core Plug-In Runtime] Availability Runtime Environment: iOS 18.6
Apple.Core.Availability:OnApplicationStart()
// and the exception I get:
GameKitException: Code=-7 Domain=GKErrorDomain Description=The operation couldn’t be completed. (GKErrorDomain error -7.) (UnsupportedOperationForOSVersion)
at Apple.GameKit.DefaultNSErrorHandler.ThrowNSError (System.IntPtr nsErrorPtr) [0x00000] in <00000000000000000000000000000000>:0
Rethrow as TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'Apple.GameKit.GKGameActivity' threw an exception.
I unfortunately didn’t find any clues as to why this happens and how to resolve it on this forum or otherwise.
Changing the minimum iOS version - up to 18.6 from the previously used (Unity export default) 12.0 for any and all targets - did not yield a different result
I'd rather not update the phone to use the iOS 26 beta, though as far as I understood this is not necessary
Any pointers to what I might be missing or doing wrong are greatly appreciated!
Thank you very much in advance!
GameKit
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Activity
var allLeaderboards = await GKLeaderboard.LoadLeaderboards();
Log(allLeaderboards.Count); // returns 0
What am I missing??
What doesn’t work:
await GKGameActivityDefinition.LoadGameActivityDefinitions() → count = 0
await GKLeaderboard.LoadLeaderboards() (no args) → 0 leaderboards
await GKLeaderboard.LoadLeaderboards("MY ID") → returns 0
GkGameActivity.SetScoreOnLeaderboard(Leaderboard, score, context); returns an error since my Leaderboard is null.
Activities and leaderboards are defined in GameCenterResources.gamekit in Xcode.
Achievements that I add locally in the .gamekit file do not appear at runtime either; only ASC live ones show.
**
What works:**
xcode- debug- Gamekit- Manage Game progress- I can submit new scores with the plus button and see the notification on my device.
await GKLocalPlayer.Authenticate() succeeds.
await GKAchievement.LoadAchievements() returns the list of achievements configured in App Store Connect- but not any new local achievements created in Xcode in GameCenterResources.gamekit
Environment
Device/OS: iPhone on iOS 26.0 beta (Game Center sandbox)
Xcode: 26.0 beta 6
Unity: 2022.3.21
Apple GameKit Unity plugin: 2025-beta1 (GameKit package)
Signing: Game Center capability enabled; using development provisioning profile
GameKit resources: GameCenterResources.gamekit in project (Target: Unity-iPhone), appears under Build Phases → Copy Bundle Resources
I have several games on the app store which are setup as "For Kids" which means these games cannot have any way to access the outside world including the App Store. No problem. These games have worked fine for years until iOS 26.
Now, all my updates are being rejected because the new version of Game Center running on iPadOS 26 has a way for people to exit the game and go to the App Store. I have no control over this since it's built into Game Center, and the app review folks want me to put a "parental gate" on it, but there's no way to do that because... well... it's in Game Center, not my code.
So, I'm unable to update my apps because of this. Presumably, the existing versions on the app store still do this exact same thing, so my update isn't going to make any difference. Does anyone know of a way to make that crap at the top go away so this isn't an issue?
Topic:
Graphics & Games
SubTopic:
GameKit
Hello,
When testing GameKit "Manage Game Progress" in Xcode 26:
On iOS devices, achievements, leaderboards, and party code data display and work correctly.
On macOS devices, none of these data appear in "Manage Game Progress."
Is this a known issue with macOS GameKit, or is there a limitation compared to iOS?
If it is not a bug, is there any additional configuration needed to make achievements and leaderboards visible on macOS?
I also included the GameKit bundle in my macOS app and enabled Enable Debug Mode in GameKit Configuration in the scheme options.
Thank you.
i play Roblox and ever since I've got this update the quality graphics stability Internet ping and a lot of other stuff has drastically been worse
Hello,
On macOS 26 (Tahoe), when building a OSX app that includes GameKit code, calling GKLocalPlayer.local.authenticateHandler shows the "Sign In to Game Center" alert (e.g. didShowFullscreenSignIn) — even if the app does not have the Game Center capability enabled or any related entitlement (com.apple.developer.game-center).
This alert only appears when the user is not signed in to Game Center in system settings.
However, when testing the same code path on iOS app built with macOS 26 (Tahoe), the alert does not appear unless the proper capability and entitlement are included.
This behavior is different from macOS 15 (Sequoia) + Xcode 15.x. Prior to the update, Game Center features did not work at all even with the OSX app without Capability and Entitlements.
Steps to Reproduce
Create a new OSX app target (App Sandbox enabled, no Game Center capability).
Add minimal GameKit code:
GKLocalPlayer.local.authenticateHandler = { _, _, _ in }
Build OSX app and run on macOS 26 (Tahoe).
Ensure Game Center is signed out in System Settings.
Observe: “Sign In to Game Center” alert appears automatically.
Expected Behavior
When Game Center capability and entitlement are not present, authenticateHandler should fail silently, and no signIn alert should appear.
Actual Behavior
On OSX app, the Game Center signIn UI appears even without any Game Center capability or entitlement.
On iOS app, this alert does not appear.
*Build Configuration: built with the same condition. (macOS 26 + Xcode 26)
Question
Could you please confirm whether this behavior is an intentional change in macOS 26 or a bug only for OSX apps in the GameKit authentication flow?
Thank you.
Hi all
I have two mystic issues with saving and fetching data to and from iCloud. Both repro only after first launch of an app.
1. [GKLocalPlayer fetchSavedGamesWithCompletionHandler:]
After first attempt I can see 0 saved games (but i know that there is at least one saved game) and there is no any error. In case if I try fetch one more time (without any additional actions) even immediately after first attempt I receive saved games correctly (not 0)
2. [GKLocalPlayer saveGameData: withName: completionHandler:]
After first attempt I can see error The requested operation could not be completed because local player has not been authenticated. In case if I try save one more time (without any additional actions) even immediately after first attempt I can save data successfully without any error
I found the same issue in StackOverflow, but there are no fixes...
I am currently working on a game that involves earning achievements, which I am using the Apple Unity Plug-Ins to display. I have found that occasionally opening the Game Center Dashboard the last achievement earned will not be displayed until the game is closed and reopened. I am using GKAccessPoint.Shared.Trigger to display the Achievements screen, which occasionally seems to open a cached version of the dashboard. I've found that it seems to consistently happen when earning multiple achievements within one minute, but this is not always the case. Does anybody have any experience with something like this in the past?
Added achievements to my approved app. Added them for the next release version, which I am running in simulator. When I look at the Achievements page, I can see that there are 17 Achievements available (correct), but they all show as hidden, despite checking the "No" box in App Store Connect.
Topic:
Graphics & Games
SubTopic:
GameKit
When running my game in the Unity Editor on Windows platform I get an error:
DllNotFoundException: GameKitWrapper assembly:<unknown assembly> type:<unknown type> member:(null)
Apple.GameKit.DefaultNSErrorHandler.Init () (at ./Library/PackageCache/com.apple.unityplugin.gamekit@0abcad546f73/Source/DefaultHandlers.cs:35)
This is because GameKitWrapper dynamically linked library is not available under Windows platform.
Besides, "Apple Build Settings" are declared under UNITY_EDITOR_OSX and also not available under Windows platform.
Does anyone managed to solve this?
Hey all — I’ve been building out my first set of Game Center Achievements for a game I’m working on, and I’ve run into something odd with the image quality.
The specs say to upload icons at 512x512 or 1024x1024@2x. I’ve been uploading 1024x1024 PNGs (without explicitly naming them “@2x” since there’s only one upload slot), assuming that Game Center would just handle the scaling automatically — kind of like how a lot of things are getting more streamlined across platforms lately.
But in testing, the icons are showing up a bit blurry, especially in the Game Center interface. It’s not horrible, but it’s definitely softer than I expected — more like low-res than Retina.
All my test devices (outside the Simulator) are running iOS 26, so I’m also wondering if this might be a beta-related display bug?
Has anyone else run into this? Curious if I’m missing a best practice here, or if I really do need to ensure I’m uploading it with the @2x suffix, or maybe something else entirely?
Thanks!
Issues building Unity plug-in project: Cannot locate native library Apple.Core/Apple.GameKit for iOS
I'm having issues getting a well built package from the Apple Unity Plug-in project.
When building the my game project in Unity the following error is printed to the console:
Apple.Core.AppleNativeLibraryUtility] Cannot locate a Debug or Release Apple.Core native library for iOS.
Please ensure that the build invocation (build.py, xcodebuild, or Xcode) compiled cleanly and that the build was configured to support Debug on iOS.
As far as I can tell the build did compile cleanly, but I might be missing something.
If anyone can see what I'm doing wrong or has any insight it would be greatly appreciated.
Setup is the following:
macOS Tahoe 26 Beta
Xcode-beta Version 26.0 beta 3 (17A5276g)
Unity Plug-in branch: 2025-beta1
Unity game project version: 2022.3.60f
M1 Macbook Pro
The built packages have been imported into the game project through the Unity Package Manager using the tarball option pointing to the built packages from the Unity Plug-in project.
The Unity Plug-in project has been built using the build.py file with the following:
python3 build.py -m iOS iPhoneSimulator -p Core GameKit CoreHaptics GameController -k all
The output is available in the attached file.
build-output.txt
Here's an image of the NativeLibraries~ folder inside the built Apple.Core package.
Hello,
**I'm Using **
Unity 6 LTS
Unity Apple GameKit + Core plugins
Turn-based matchmaking interface w/ 2 players max
App Store Connect API for rule-based matchmaking
I have already
enabled game center in app store connect (I think)
authenticated players and matched via friend request
I am stuck
Using queues to match players automatically
I'm working on a rule-based matchmaking system which aims to place two players against each other into a GKTurnBasedMatch. I have a simple Unity Project that correctly authenticates a user and proceeds to send a matchmaking request. The matchmaking script utilizes the Unity plugins' GKTurnBasedMatchmakerViewController.Request(...) request function with a GKMatchRequest.Init() request configured with a QueueName equal to the App Store Connect API Queue I created.
The queue I created is also linked to a ruleset with a very basic rule that checks if the properties contains a key called 'preference' that contains a string value for what side the player wants to play for this match. If during the matchmaking, the preferences between players are different, then the match is made and both players should join the match; each player gets to play the side they have chosen. I have my rule expression designed to just check if the preferences are not equal:
requests[0].properties.faction_preference != requests[1].properties.faction_preference
When I launch the game with two physical iPads and begin the matchmaking request, each player is immediately presented with two options:
Invite a friend, or
Start game
The Problem: Inviting a friend works to get two players into a game, but queue seems to not matter, and clicking start game will just put the current player into its own match (no one joins).
The Question: How do I get queue based matchmaking to work in Unity for a Turn-based match with only two players who are able to select the enemy side they want to play dictated by a rule that compares enemy play-side preferences?
Resources I've used:
Apple Unity GameKit Plugin: https://github.com/apple/unityplugins
Matchmaking: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/gamekit/matchmaking-rules
Multiplayer rulesets: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/gamekit/finding-players-using-matchmaking-rules
Topic:
Graphics & Games
SubTopic:
GameKit
Tags:
GameKit
Graphics and Games
App Store Connect
Apple Unity Plug-Ins
Hi,
Since iOS 26 introduced the new Games app, I’ve noticed a problem when using a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller in wired USB-C mode, and also with third-party controllers that emulate it (like the GameSir X5 Lite).
In the Games app interface, only the L/R buttons respond, but the D-Pad and analog sticks don’t work at all. Once inside actual games, the controller works fine — the issue only affects the Games app UI.
What I’ve tested so far:
Xbox / PlayStation controllers → work fine in both wired and Bluetooth, including inside the Games app.
Switch Pro Controller (Bluetooth) → works fine, including in the Games app.
Switch Pro Controller (wired) → same issue as the X5 Lite, D-Pad and sticks don’t work in the Games app.
This makes it hard to use the new Games app launcher with these controllers, even though they work perfectly once a game is launched.
My question: is this an iOS bug (Apple needs to add proper support for wired Switch Pro controllers in the Games app), or something that Nintendo / GameSir would need to address?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can confirm this or provide more info.
We have a released game in the App Store with Game Center Challenges. The challenges were working well in testing of the final version before the Game Center challenges went live. After release the activity that should take the player to the challenge in game results in this printout and we do not get informed by GKGameActivityListener of the activity happening in our code as we did before the Game Center challenges went live.
“Invalid game activity definition.
Failed to kick activity notification to GameKit. Error: Error Domain=GKErrorDomain Code=17 "(null)"”
Also, Game Center reports that the are no challenges in GKChallengeDefinition.all even though there are ongoing challenges.
The leaderboard results do get reported to Game Center though and show up as challenge entries in the Games app.
At the moment we are trying to figure out if this is a problem on our end or a Game Center server issue.
Topic:
Graphics & Games
SubTopic:
GameKit
Hello -
Upon enabling debug mode for GameKit configuration for my iOS app, I do not see any devices (my iPhone or simulators) in the device list within the "Manage Game Progress" debug tool. I only see my Mac as a device. Is there any trick to this or a way to add devices to this list?
Thank you
I typically read an extended gamepad capture() and get all state. But PSVR2 controllers seem to report nothing. So the stick and other buttons don't do anything in a built app. They register as left/right controllers. This on vOS 26, Xcode 26, etc.
They work correctly in the main icon view, although they don't honor inverted vertical and horiztonal scrolling. Both of the default scrolls just feel wrong. When I move left I'm want to scroll level not right. Same for up/down.
Attempting to bring up the access point yields the following error log:
[GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy
[GameCenterOverlayService] Could not create endpoint for service name: com.apple.GameOverlayUI.dashboard-service
[GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy
[GameCenterOverlayService] Could not create endpoint for service name: com.apple.GameOverlayUI.dashboard-service
[GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy
[GameCenterOverlayService] Failed to create GameOverlayUI Dashboard Remote Proxy
The same code (which is a single line setting 'active' to true) works on physical devices and on the simulator in iOS 18.6
I haven't been able to find any mention of this issue online. Any suggestions or help greatly appreciated.
Hi everyone
I'm experiencing an issue with iPadOS 26 regarding multi-touch gesture detection. When performing a quick four-finger gesture (tap and swipe), the system often fails to recognize the input. This especially affects multi-touch gestures, such as rhythm games with difficult levels.
Steps to Reproduce:
Place four fingers on the screen.
Perform a quick tap or a quick horizontal swipe (like the one used to switch apps).
Observe whether the gesture is ignored or detected inconsistently.
Expected Behavior:
4-finger multitouch gestures should be recognized regardless of gesture speed, just like previous iPadOS versions.
Actual Behavior:
Gestures fail to be detected when executed quickly—same gestures still work, and miss notes in rhythm games.
You can check out my posts on Twitter/x and Facebook: [https://x.com/kokona_fwa/status/1978131164104728949?s=61]
Facebook: [https://m.facebook.com/groups/idipad/permalink/24438964899058806/?]
I have an AR game using ARKit with SceneKit that works just fine in iOS 17.
In the iOS 18 betas, the AR background image shows black instead of showing the real world. As a result there's no tracking and obviously the whole game is useless.
I narrowed down the issue to showing the Game Center Access Point.
My app has ViewController 1 (VC1) showing the main menu and that's where I want to show the GC Access Point. From there you open VC2 which shows a list of levels. Selecting any level will open VC3 which has the ARScene.
Following is the code I use to start Game Center in VC1:
GKLocalPlayer.local.authenticateHandler = { gcAuthVC, error in
let isGameCenterReady = (gcAuthVC == nil) && (error == nil)
if let viewController = gcAuthVC {
self.present (viewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
}
if error != nil {
print(error?.localizedDescription ?? "")
}
if isGameCenterReady {
GKAccessPoint.shared.location = .topLeading
GKAccessPoint.shared.showHighlights = true
GKAccessPoint.shared.isActive = true
}
}
When switching to VC2 I run GKAccessPoint.shared.isActive = false so that the Access Point will no longer show in any of the following VCs. I tried running it in VC1, VC2, and again in VC3 - it doesn't change anything. Once I reach VC3, the background is black.
If in VC1 I don't run GKAccessPoint.shared.isActive = true, so I don't activate the access point, the behavior is as follows:
If I wait until after the Game Center login animation completes and closes on its own and then I proceed to VC2 and VC3, the camera image will show correctly
If I quickly move to VC2 before the Game Center login animation has completed, so my code will close it by setting active = false, and then I continue to VC3, I will see the black background problem.
So it does look like activating the access point and then de-activating it causes the issue. BTW, if I activate the access point and leave it on in all VCs, the same black background issue persists.
Other than that, when I'm in VC3 with the black background and I switch to another app (so my game moves to the background), when it returns to the foreground, the camera suddenly shows the real world correctly!
I tried to manually reset the AR session by pausing and restarting it, but that didn't change anything. Also, when I check with the debugger, it looks like when the app comes back to the foreground it also doesn't run the session start code.
But something does seem to reset itself so I wonder what that is. Maybe I could trigger the same manually in my cdoe???
I repeat that everything works just fine in iOS 17 and below. This problem only started with the iOS 18 beta (currently on beta 5, but it started in some of the previous betas as well).
So could this be a bug in iOS 18?
As a workaround I could check the iOS version and if it's iOS18 not activate the access point, hoping that the user will not jump to VC2 too quickly, and show my own button which will open Game Center. But I'd rather give the users the full experience with their own avatar and the highlights showing up. Plus, certainly some users will move quickly to VC2 and that will be an awful experience.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!