Apple launches ‘Emoji Game’ for News+ in push to grow subscriptions

Announced during the WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple News Plus’ latest Emoji Game is now available to subscribers. The Emoji Game requires iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4. It was originally expected to launch alongside iOS 26 later this fall.

Apple released the game early to celebrate World Emoji Day. With this launch, the company adds to its lineup of daily puzzle games available through the $12.99/month Apple News+ subscription.

Cupertino says Emoji Game “brings to life one of users’ favorite ways to communicate in a fun and engaging way, with players challenged to use emojis to complete three phrases, with the goal of solving the puzzle in as few moves as possible.”

Image source: Apple Inc.

One standout feature of the Emoji Game is its use of Genmoji, created with Apple Intelligence, to test players’ skills. “Each phrase is accompanied by a clue, which the user can choose to reveal, but that will count toward the player’s total number of moves,” the company explains.

“Emoji Game is the perfect addition to the Apple News+ suite of word and number puzzles, turning the emoji we use every day into a brainteaser that’s approachable and fun,” said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News.

Like Apple’s other games, Emoji Game supports Game Center leaderboards (and will later integrate with the upcoming Games app). Players can also share their results with friends and family via social media, Mail, or Messages.

Apple News+ subscribers can access daily and archived puzzle games in the Puzzles section of the Apple News app. In addition to Emoji Game, Apple offers popular puzzles like crossword, the crossword mini, Quartiles, and Sudoku.

The Apple News+ subscription is available in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Users can subscribe individually or as part of the Apple One Premier bundle. At this time, it’s unclear when Apple plans to expand News+ to more countries and regions, but global demand for it remains high.

The post Apple launches ‘Emoji Game’ for News+ in push to grow subscriptions appeared first on BGR.

Apple launches ‘Emoji Game’ for News+ in push to grow subscriptions originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 17 Jul 2025 at 10:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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