4 ways the Apple TV 4K could change to make it a gaming destination

• Port the Games app
• Give controllers the privileges of a Siri Remote
• Add a modern iPhone chip

Apple renamed Apple TV+ to Apple TV not long ago, a decision that was buried in a press release about the movie F1, but was still received with a fair bit of fanfare. A simple name change shouldn’t necessarily upset anyone, but people cared because it made the difference between the Apple TV app and Apple TV service harder to understand. Setting aside that silliness, though, I think the continued interest in public announcements of Apple’s entertainment ambitions continues to exist because it always feels like there’s more the company could be doing.

Maybe things would feel different if it didn’t seem like the company’s TV hardware is stuck in second gear. The Apple TV 4K launched in 2022, but wasn’t much of a change from the box Apple was selling before. The release of tvOS 26 brought Liquid Glass to the TV, but didn’t do much else. The most obvious way the Apple TV 4K could improve is as a place to play games. Not necessarily by becoming a game console, but by adopting some of the gaming features Apple is already exploring on smartphones and tablets.

With that potential in mind, here are four changes Apple could make to the Apple TV 4K to make it the gaming destination it was born to be.

Port the Games app

A faster way to launch games

Apple introduced the Games app with the latest release of iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 as a way to centralize the gaming experience on its platforms. Apple Games mixes Game Center features like leaderboards and events, with a game launcher for every game you’ve downloaded, and a game discovery tool. The app is particularly powerful on macOS 26 Tahoe, where it can collect and launch every game installed on your computer, including ones from other game stores like Steam or Epic Games.

Notably, the app is missing from tvOS 26 on the Apple TV 4K. Apple’s living room operating system includes an Apple Arcade app, which can suggest games from Apple’s subscription service and even launch them when they’re installed, but it’s not nearly as in-depth as the Games app is, or could be, assuming Apple can get players to use it.

tvOS 26 still seems to use and reference Game Center, despite Apple shifting to its Games app with its latest software releases.

One way Apple could demonstrate its commitment to games — and maybe even make the experience better on the Apple TV 4K — is by porting the app over. That way, there’s a centralized place where players can start and discover games, and view the streamlined social features Apple has built. Maybe the company reimagines the Apple Arcade app, or maybe it just enlarges the iPadOS version for TV screens, but it wouldn’t necessarily have to be a big lift.

There are ways the company could even encourage people to use it by opening the app any time a Bluetooth game controller is connected to the Apple TV 4K. It wouldn’t be that different from how a press of the TV / Home button on a Siri Remote pulls up the Apple TV app.

Give controllers the privileges of a Siri Remote

Apple has allowed tvOS to support for game controllers for years through its “MFI” program, and officially introduced support for Bluetooth game controllers in 2019, the same year Apple Arcade launched. Connected over Bluetooth, an Xbox or PlayStation controller can navigate an Apple TV 4K’s menus, open apps and control playback of media, but they are missing some features that the Apple TV’s Siri Remote can do.

Some of these features might not be available to game controllers because of the limitations of Bluetooth or a reliance on IR, but adding them really could make a difference.

Those include things like pulling up Siri, turning the Apple TV 4K on and off, and doing things like adjusting the volume on the TV itself. Some of these features might not be available to game controllers because of the limitations of Bluetooth or a reliance on IR, but adding them really could make a difference. It would not only make using a controller with an Apple TV more convenient, which could encourage people to play games, but it could also be tied into other features that drive people towards Apple Arcade, like a hypothetical Apple Games app. That’s good for Apple TV 4K owners and Apple alike.

Use as much of that A-series chip as possible

Apple introduced Game Mode with the macOS Sonoma in 2023 as a way to better take advantage of the performance of the M-series chips the company uses in its Macs. Game Mode adjusts the amount of CPU and GPU resources background processes are allowed to use, so that they can be put towards running a game more smoothly. Apple also doubles the Bluetooth sampling rate when Game Mode is enabled to reduce the latency between Bluetooth headphones and controllers and your Mac, making inputs and audio less laggy.

The company brought Game Mode to iOS a year later with iOS 18 in 2024 with similar features, and made it so that it could be automatically enabled when you open a game. This would be a totally reasonable software feature to port to tvOS because the operating system is already optimized to run on the A-series chips Apple uses on the iPhone. The most recent Apple TV 4K uses an A15 Bionic chip that Apple last used on the iPhone 13.

Running iOS features on tvOS on the large, high-resolution screens in most living rooms presents challenges, but Game Mode seems like it could be adjusted to work.

Add a modern iPhone chip

Expand the quality of games that can run

Beyond making tvOS more efficient and game-friendly, Apple could also just make the Apple TV 4K more powerful with a new chip. The A15 Bionic offers plenty of power for streaming video, but is not quite as capable as what a modern iPhone runs. An iPhone 17 Pro running the A19 Pro can play games as demanding as Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The same goes for the M-series chips Apple uses in the iPad Pro and iPad Air. It seems unlikely that Apple would slap an M1 chip in the Apple TV 4K, but a recent A-series chip like the A17 Pro or A18 Pro seems like a possibility.

In September 2025, Bloomberg reported that the new Apple TV would come with a faster processor and the N1 chip (used for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Thread) that was introduced on the iPhone Air. The improvements are supposed to support Apple Intelligence and the upcoming revamp of Siri, but they could just as easily be applied to games.

The Apple TV 4K is already almost as good for games as an iPhone

It’s easy to wish for the impossible. Apple has all the obvious pieces necessary to put together and make a console, except for a video game-friendly interface and a willingness to work with game developers. But practical, small changes seem far more likely, and could have just as big of an impact.

The Apple TV 4K works great as your default TV interface, and it’s gotten a lot better thanks to tvOS 26, but there’s still room to improve. A new version is the perfect chance for Apple to do something bold and put some oomph behind its gaming features in a place where they already make sense.