Game Center

Navigate to Your App’s Game Center Page

First, learn how to navigate to the Game Center page of your app because most of the controls you need to configure Game Center are accessible there. It is also useful to learn how to navigate to the detail page of an app version once your app ships.

To go to the Game Center page in iTunes Connect

1. Log in to iTunes Connect using your Apple ID user name and password.

2. Click Manage Your Applications.

   

3. Click the app you want to manage.

4. Click Manage Game Center.

   

Enable Your App for Game Center

You use iTunes Connect to configure Game Center features for your set of apps. The configuration metadata is grouped into objects with properties that you create and edit using iTunes Connect. Essentially, an app in iTunes Connect is a type of object and a Game Center enabled app has additional properties described in Table 14-1. Game Center enabled groups have leaderboards and achievements too. Property values you edit in iTunes Connect have precise definitions with some restrictions, so read the description carefully.

In order to configure Game Center features, you first need to enable your app for Game Center.

To enable your app for Game Center

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. Click “Enable for Single Game.”

   

3. Click Disabled.

   The Disabled button toggles between Disabled and Enabled. To disable your app for Game Center testing, click Enabled. Once you disable, you will no longer see your app in the Game Center sandbox. You are only permitted to disable up until a version of your app goes live with Game Center.

   Enabling Game Center for testing unlocks the Game Center interface to allow you to set up your leaderboards and achievements.

   

Up until a version of your app goes live, you can disable Game Center for all versions of your app.

To disable your app for Game Center

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Game Center section, click Enabled.

Read “Groups” for how to create groups and enable Game Center for a group. Read “Distributing Game Center Apps” if you want to enable Game Center for a version of your app and submit new leaderboards or achievements with that version. You also select apps for multiplayer compatibility when you distribute Game Center apps.

Creating Single Leaderboards

A single leaderboard allows users to compare their high scores for your app with other players. You must create at least two single leaderboards before you can combine them. Refer to Table 14-2 when entering information about a leaderboard.

To add a single leaderboard

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. If necessary, click Disabled to enable Game Center.

   

3. In the Leaderboard section, click Add Leaderboard.

   

4. In the Single Leaderboard section, click Choose.

   

5. Enter an internal name for the leaderboard in the Leaderboard Reference Name field.

   When you add language support, you’ll enter a localized name for the leaderboard that is displayed to users.

   

6. Enter an alphanumeric identifier for your leaderboard in the Leaderboard ID text field.

7. Choose a format from the Score Format Type menu.

8. Choose either “Low to High” or “High to Low” as the sort order for the scores.

9. Optionally, enter a score range in the Score Range text fields.

10. Add leaderboard languages as described in “Managing Leaderboard Languages.”

    

11. Click Save.

Managing Leaderboards

When you have multiple leaderboards, you can change the default leaderboard. The default leaderboard is the first leaderboard that the user sees on the device. The first single leaderboard you create is automatically set as the default leaderboard for your app.

To set the default leaderboard

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. Select the Default toggle button in the row of the leaderboard you want to be the default.

Depending on the state of your app, you may be limited on what leaderboard properties you can edit. Before you submit your app for review, you can change all leaderboard properties, but after you submit, most properties are not editable. Refer to “Appendix A: Game Center Info Table” for details on what properties are editable.

To edit a leaderboard

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Leaderboard section, double-click the leaderboard you want to edit.

3. Change leaderboard properties as described in Table 14-2 as needed.

   

4. Click Save.

Leaderboards are presented to the user in the order they appear in Game Center on the group detail page. You can change the order of the leaderboards on the app’s Game Center page.

To reorder a leaderboard

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Leaderboards section, drag the icon in the first column of the leaderboard you want to reorder to a new location in the table.

The status of a leaderboard is displayed in the rightmost column of the Leaderboards table. The possible status values are described in Table 14-4. If a Delete button appears in this column, the status is none of those values and the leaderboard can be deleted.

To delete a leaderboard

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Leaderboards section and row of the leaderboard you want to remove, click Delete.

   The Delete button appears and is enabled only if you can delete the leaderboard.

3. Click Delete in the dialog that appears.

Managing Leaderboard Languages

If your app ships to multiple countries, you should localize your leaderboard for all the regions you support. You must add support for at least one language to your leaderboard. Refer to Table 14-5 when entering leaderboard localization information.

To add a leaderboard language

1. In the Leaderboard Localization section of the Add Leaderboard page, click Add Language.

   

2. Select a language from the Language menu.

   

3. Enter a localized reference name for the leaderboard in the Name field.

   For example, if you selected Finnish from the Language menu, enter the Finnish name for the leaderboard in the Name field.

4. Select a localized score format from the Score Format menu.

5. Optionally, enter a localized score suffix in the Score Format Suffix field.

   If you want a space to appear between the score and the suffix, enter a space followed by the suffix text.

6. Click Choose File and select a localized image for the leaderboard.

7. Click Save.

If the status of your app is not In Review, you can edit the properties of a leaderboard language. Refer to “Appendix A: Game Center Info Table” for which properties are editable when.

To edit a leaderboard language

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Leaderboards section, select the leaderboard that you want to edit.

3. In the Leaderboard Localization section, click the language that you want to edit.

4. Modify the properties in the dialog that appears.

5. Click Save.

6. On the leaderboard edit page, click Save.

You can only delete a language if there are two or more languages listed in the Leaderboard Localization section of the leaderboard edit page.

To delete a leaderboard language

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Leaderboards section, select the leaderboard that you want to edit.

3. In the row of the language you want to remove, click Delete.

4. Click Delete in the dialog that appears.

Combining Leaderboards

A combined leaderboard joins and ranks together the players from multiple single leaderboards. You must have at least two single leaderboards before you can create a combined leaderboard, and the leaderboards cannot be combined unless they have the same score format and sort order. Refer to Table 14-2 when entering information about a combined leaderboard.

To combine leaderboards

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Leaderboard section, click Add Leaderboard.

3. In the Combined Leaderboard section, click Choose.

   If the Choose button is disabled, you need to create at least two leaderboards before you can perform this operation, as described in “Managing Leaderboards.”

   

4. In the Leaderboard Reference Name field, enter a reference name for the leaderboard.

   When you add language support, you’ll enter a localized name for the leaderboard that is displayed to users.

   

5. In the Leaderboard ID text field, enter an alphanumeric identifier for your leaderboard.

6. In the Leaderboards section, select two or more leaderboards you want to combine.

   Only leaderboards with the same score format and sort order can be combined and appear in this list.

   

7. Add leaderboard languages as described in “Managing Leaderboard Languages.”

8. Click Save.

Managing Achievements

Adding achievements to your game is optional. The maximum number of achievements you can create is 100. Note that once an achievement is available to the user for any version of your app, it cannot be deleted. Refer to Table 14-6 when entering information about an achievement. Refer to Table 14-7 for the meaning of achievement statuses.

To add an achievement

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Achievements section, click Add Achievement.

   

3. Enter an internal reference name for the achievement in the Achievement Reference Name field.

   

4. Enter a unique identifier in the Achievement ID field.

   The identifier must be alphanumeric but can contain periods and underscores.

5. Enter the amount of points the achievement is worth in the Point Value field.

   The remaining points are displayed below this field. The maximum number of points allowed for all achievements is 1000.

6. Select Yes from the Hidden radio button if you want the achievement to be hidden until the user earns it; otherwise, select No.

7. Select Yes from the Achievable More Than Once radio button if the user can earn the achievement multiple times; otherwise, select No.

8. Add achievement languages as described in “Managing Achievement Languages.”

   

9. Click Save.

Depending on the state of your app, you may be limited on what achievement properties you can edit. Before you submit your app for review, you can change all achievement properties. After your app is submitted, you may be limited on what properties you can change. Refer to “Appendix A: Game Center Info Table” for details on what properties are editable.

To edit an achievement

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Achievements section, click the achievement you want to edit (click anywhere in the row).

3. Modify the properties in the dialog that appears.

4. Click Save.

The order of the achievements determines the order in which they are presented to users. You can change the order on the app’s Game Center page.

To reorder an achievement

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Achievements section, drag the icon in the first column of the achievement you want to move to a new location in the table.

The status of an achievement is displayed in the rightmost column of the Achievements table. The possible status values are described in Table 14-7. If a Delete button appears in this column, the status is none of those values and the achievement can be deleted.

To delete an achievement

1. Go to the Game Center page of your app.

2. In the Achievements section, click the Delete button in the row of the achievement you want to remove.

   The Delete button appears and is enabled only if you can delete the achievement.

3. Click Delete in the dialog that appears.

Managing Achievement Languages

If your app ships to multiple countries, you should localize your achievements. You must add support for at least one language to your achievement. Refer to Table 14-8 when localizing an achievement.

To add an achievement language

1. In the Achievement Localization section of the Add Achievement page, click Add Language.

2. Select a language from the Language menu.

   

3. Enter a localized name for the achievement in the Title field.

4. Enter a localized description of the achievement in the Pre-earned Description field.

5. Enter a localized description of the achievement in the Earned Description field.

6. Click Choose File and select a localized image for the achievement.

7. Click Save.

If the status of your app is not In Review, you can edit the properties of an achievement language.

To edit an achievement language

1. Go to the achievement edit page of the app.

2. In the Leaderboard Localization section, click the language (click anywhere in the row).

3. Modify the properties in the dialog that appears.

4. Click Save.

You can only delete an achievement language if you have more than one.

To delete an achievement language

1. Go to the achievement edit page of the app.

2. In the language row, click Delete.

3. Click Delete in the dialog that appears.

Creating and Editing Groups

A group can’t exist without containing at least one app, so you create a group by moving an app to a group. Depending on whether the app is already enabled for Game Center, the workflow is slightly different. You also have the option of creating a new group or moving an app to an existing group. If the app and an existing group have leaderboards and achievements, you’ll need to decide whether to merge or add these to the group.

Refer to Table 14-9 when entering information about a group.

To add an app to a new group

1. Click Manage Your Applications.

2. Select an app that is not a member of a group.

3. Click Manage Game Center.

4. If the app is not enabled for Game Center, click “Enable for Group of Games.”

5. If the app is enabled for Game Center but not in a group, click “Move to Group.”

6. Enter a group reference name in the text field.

7. Click Create Group.

   

8. Edit the group’s properties as described in “To edit group properties.”

9. Click Done.

Once you create a group, you can add multiple apps to the group. If either the app or group has existing leaderboards and achievements, you’ll need to decide whether to add or merge them.

To add an app to an existing group

1. Click Manage Your Applications.

2. Select an app that is not a member of a group.

3. Click Manage Game Center.

4. If the app is not enabled for Game Center, click “Enable for Group of Games.”

   

5. Otherwise, if the app is enabled for Game Center but not in a group, click “Move to Group.”

   

6. In the “Move to an Existing Group” section, click a group in the table.

   

7. If the app has existing leaderboards or achievements that need to be moved or merged with the group’s, follow the steps in “Moving App Data to Groups.”

8. Otherwise, click Save.

You edit properties of an existing group from the Game Center Groups page.

To edit an existing group

1. On the Manage Your Apps page, click Game Center Groups.

2. In the Manage Existing Groups section, click the group you want to edit.

3. Edit the group’s properties as described in “To edit group properties.”

If the current app version has not been reviewed and approved, you can remove it from a group. When you remove the last app from a group, the group is deleted.

To remove an app from a group

1. On the Manage Your Apps page, click Game Center Groups.

2. In the Manage Existing Groups section, click the group you want to edit.

3. In the row of the app you want to remove, click Delete.

   If the app is the last app in the group, the group is deleted too.

To make the group leaderboards and achievements available to users, you must submit a new version of your app from the Version Details page, as described in “Distributing Game Center Apps.”

Moving App Data to Groups

The purpose of adding an app to a group is to share data, specifically share leaderboards and achievements. Therefore, when you add an app to a group, the app’s leaderboards and achievements need to be added or merged with the group’s leaderboards and achievements. Once an app is added to a group, you can no longer view the app’s leaderboards and achievements in iTunes Connect. Ideally, the mapping from app to group assets is one-to-one but that may not be the case. Therefore, iTunes Connect guides you through this process by presenting only compatible assets and available options at each step of the way.

There are no restrictions on adding leaderboards and achievements to groups or merging achievements. However, there are some constraints when merging leaderboards. When you merge an asset, there are rules for what properties the group asset inherits from the app asset.

After you move your app assets to the group, follow the steps in “Distributing Game Center Apps” to submit the group assets along with a version of your app.

Moving Leaderboards and Achievements

The options that iTunes Connect presents to you are dependent on your specific app and group data. You won’t see options for types of assets that you don’t have. If the group has no leaderboards or achievements, you can move your app’s assets directly to the group. Otherwise, for each leaderboard and achievement, you choose whether to add or merge it with the group. If there are no available leaderboards or achievements to merge with, you need to add the leaderboard or achievement. Each group leaderboard and achievement ID needs to begin with the grp. prefix.

To move app leaderboards and achievements to a group

1. For each combined leaderboard, choose whether to merge or add it, and then move its attached leaderboards.

   If the group has no leaderboards, the only option is to add the app’s leaderboards to the group.

   • To add a leaderboard, click Add (if visible) and enter a leaderboard ID (that begins with grp.) in the text field.

     

   • To merge a leaderboard, click Merge and select a compatible group leaderboard from the Select Group Leaderboard menu.

     

     If you merge a combined leaderboard, choose whether to merge or add its attached leaderboards before moving the next combined leaderboard to the group.

2. For each single leaderboard, choose whether to merge or add it.

   Configure the leaderboards you want to merge first, and then configure the leaderboards you want to add.

   To merge a leaderboard, click Merge and select a compatible group leaderboard from the Select Group Leaderboard menu. To add a leaderboard, click Add and enter a leaderboard ID (that begins with grp.) in the text field.

   

3. For each achievement, indicate whether to add or merge the achievement.

   Configure the achievements you want to merge first, and then configure the achievements you want to add.

   To merge an achievement, click Merge and select a group achievement from the menu. To add an achievement, click Add (if visible) and enter an achievement ID (that begins with grp.) in the text field.

   

4. Click Continue.

5. Review the leaderboards and achievements that will move to the group.

   For example, in the Moved Leaderboards section, the first column displays the app’s leaderboards that are being added or merged with a corresponding group leaderboard displayed in the second column.

   

6. If you want to change the settings, click Go Back.

7. Otherwise, select “All changes are accurate.” and click Save.

Managing Group Leaderboards and Achievements

After you create and add apps to a group, you can edit it from the Game Center Groups page.

To edit an existing group

1. At the bottom of the Manage Your Apps page, click Game Center Groups.

   

2. In the Manage Existing Groups section, select the group you want to edit.

   

You use the same controls to edit group properties when you first create a group as you use later to edit an existing group.

To edit group properties

1. To change the reference name of the group, Click Edit in the Reference Name section.

   

2. To change the default leaderboard of an app, click Edit in the Default Leaderboard column of the app’s row, select a new default leaderboard, and click Save.

   

   If there is only one group leaderboard, you can’t change the default leaderboard so click Cancel.

   

3. To add a leaderboard to the group, click Add Leaderboard in the Group Leaderboards section.

   Follow the same steps to create a leaderboard for an app as described in “To add a single leaderboard” except prepend the leaderboard ID with the grp. prefix.

   

4. To add an achievement to the group, click Add Achievement in the Group Achievement section.

   Follow the same steps to create an achievement for an app as described in “To add an achievement” except prepend the achievement ID with the grp. prefix.

5. Click Done.

You follow the same steps to create and edit group leaderboards and achievements as you do for app leaderboards and achievements as described in “Managing Leaderboards” and “Managing Achievements.” You can also create combined leaderboards owned by a group as described in “Combining Leaderboards.”

Group leaderboards and achievements can have an additional status called Not Live. If the status of a group leaderboard or achievement is Not Live, then it was live for an app and was moved to a group but not approved. See Table 14-4 and Table 14-7 for a description of all the status values.

Multiplayer Compatibility Testing

Multiplayer compatibility settings determine which versions of your app are compatible—that is, they determine which users running different versions of your app can play together in Game Center. You access the multiplayer compatibility settings through the Version Details page of your app. There is no additional setup required to test versions of the same app. Only if you are testing multiple apps playing together, go to the Version Details page and add the apps you want to test to the multiplayer compatibility list. Later, when you are ready to submit your app, you’ll follow these same steps to select the versions of your app that are multiplayer compatible.

To change set multiplayer compatibility settings

1. On the main iTunes Connect page, click Manage Your Applications.

2. Click your app to go to the App Summary page.

3. In the Versions section, click View Details.

   

4. In the Multiplayer Compatibility section of the Game Center section, click Edit.

   

5. To add a multiplayer app, select an app from the Plus menu (located below the list of apps).

   

   The Plus menu displays the name and platform for each app you can add.

6. To delete a multiplayer app, select the app from the list and click the Minus button.

   

7. To select previous versions of an app, select the app and select the versions of the app that are multiplayer compatible in the detail view on the right.

   Only versions of the app that are Game Center enabled are shown in the detail view.

8. Click Save.