Game streaming seems to be the next big thing that just about every big player in the industry seems to be pushing for. Google, Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA, Square Enix, Amazon, and Sony are just among the very many big name companies we have heard of experimenting with game streaming, and now it looks like an even bigger name may be about to join the fray. The biggest name of all, in fact.

According to a report from Cheddar, Apple is looking into starting a “Netflix for games” (sound familiar?), and will be acting more proactively with distributing games on this service than ever before, including acting as a publisher for the games on it.

Anything beyond that is unclear right now—what games would these be? App Store games? Would they be bigger AAA games, or indie titles? What devices would the service be available on? What would pricing be like? The report says these details are currently not finalized, and that Apple may well abandon the concept entirely.

But one this is for sure—between this report, and the one that the iPod Touch may be getting rebranded as a gaming handheld, it sounds like Apple may at last be beginning to take video games more seriously.

The portable market currently lies uncontested by any but Nintendo. The PS Vita is going to be meeting its end this year, and only Nintendo, with the Switch and the 3DS (which they insist on keeping around for some reason) currently sell any system to cater to that niche of the gaming market.

However, that may be changing soon, and another player might be entering the fray to offer a device that might be marketed as a primarily gaming system. Apple has applied to have the trademark for iPod Touch changed, to cover “Hand-held units for playing electronic games” and “Handheld game consoles,” which has led to speculation that a rumoured upcoming 7th generation iPod Touch may be marketed as a gaming device.

The interesting question here is about what the likelihood of this is. The iPod Touch has been capable of playing iOS games via the App Store for over a decade, and yet it has never received this trademark change previously. Why, then, has Apple decided to specifically do this now? Do they intend to market the iPod Touch primarily as a handheld gaming device going forward?

If so, how serious about that are they going to be? Will the iPod Touch have any provisions for physical controls? If it is running on the A12 chipset, it is bound to be extremely powerful (presumably far more powerful than the Switch, actually), but will there actually be any games that leverage that extra juice? And, primarily, is there even an iPod Touch 7th gen? Or is this just an anticipatory filing?

For now, file this under “rumors”, but if something comes out of this, things could get very interesting indeed.

Look, there is a real and indisputable problem with mobile gaming- the storefronts through which these games are sold are hardly curated, meaning all sorts of crap eventually manages to make its way through to consumers. And while quality control is something we can debate all day long, the larger issue is when obvious knock offs, which are in clear violation of copyright law, and which generally mislead customers and exist to scam them out of their money, manage to make their way to the storefronts too.

Such a thing has happened right now. If you visit the App Store from an iOS device, you will find a listing for Minecraft: Pocket Edition 2 (adding insult to injury is the fact that it is currently charting high on the Paid Apps list). The title of the app would suggest that it is a sequel to the first Minecraft game’s mobile version- and indeed, the description of the game would suggest that too:

“Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. Minecraft II is taking those activities to a whole new level of excellence and uniqueness. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.

“Explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles. Play in creative mode with unlimited resources or mine deep into the world in survival mode, crafting weapons and armor to fend off the dangerous mobs.

“Craft, create, and explore alone, or with friends on mobile devices or Windows 10.”

It’s a well written blurb, unlike so many other scam or knock off products, and the mention of other copyrighted properties like Windows 10 would probably allay any fears you may have had. Unfortunately, Minecraft: Pocket Edition 2 is not an official product. It’s a scam made by someone called Viktor Todorov (though on the game’s official page, the developer is listed as Scott Cawthorn, possibly in an attempt to mislead customers into associating the game with the developer of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, Scott Cawthon).

Worse than the copyright infringement, however, is the nature of the product itself. The game advertises itself using screenshots from Minecraft, misleading players into thinking that the game will play like that. Unfortunately, the actual game is nothing like Minecraft– according to Eurogamer, who have discovered this knock off via Reddit, it is a “terrible top-down swipe game” which eventually crashes your phone.

You want to know what somehow manages to make it even worse? Worse than the fact that it infringes upon multiple copyrights, worse than the fact that it misleads customers, worse than the fact that it is a terrible product? It’s the fact that it costs £5 (or $11)- it’s a terrible product that doesn’t even have the decency to be free, or cheap.

Eurogamer has gotten in touch with Mojang, and received an official statement.

“It’s great that Minecraft has inspired people to create amazing things, but when a product attempts to dupe our community or exploit their enthusiasm for the game, it’s our responsibility to step in,” Mojang’s Owen Hill said.

“Our dedicated enforcement team are extremely busy!”

Meanwhile, of course, we are all left wondering if this is truly what mobile gaming has become- exploitative and scammy at the best of times, but at the worst, an uncurated wild west where games that are buggy, misleading, and illegal end up somehow rising to the top of the charts.

The last time something like this happened, there was a video games crash- that may be the direction that mobile gaming is headed in itself.

Apple’s iOS platforms may be some of the most popular and leading platforms for video games worldwide, for both, developers and consumers, but a lot of the policies governing the App Store, and all apps sold on it, are relics of an older age- such as the app size restriction, which mandated that no app on the App Store can be larger than 2GB.

Today, Apple relaxed that restriction, with the new maximum file size per app being 4GB. Which is still hardly close to as big as the 25GB on Nintendo’s Wii U, or 50GB on PS4 or Xbox One, but it’s a start.

“The size limit of an app package submitted through iTunes Connect has increased from 2 GB to 4 GB, so you can include more media in your submission and provide a more complete, rich user experience upon installation. Please keep in mind that this change does not affect the cellular network delivery size limit of 100 MB,” Apple’s new app guidelines read.

For comparison, the Nintendo 3DS allows games and apps as big as 8GB; the PS Vita, on the other hand, had a restriction of a maximum of 4GB per game, which was lifted last year with the release of Borderlands 2.

This should come as welcome news to game makers as well, particularly the ambitious ones like Square Enix, who have expressed displeasure at the app size limit in the past before.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, LucasArts and LEGO has jointly announced that LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is now available on the Apple App Store for iOS platforms. This means iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The game takes the entire film saga, from Episode 1: The Phantom Menace all the way to Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, and represents it in stellar LEGO fashion.

Tom Stone, Managing Director for TT Games, stated that, “We are very proud and excited to make our acclaimed LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga available to iOS players. With hundreds of character customisation options, a plethora of puzzles to solve, and vast worlds to explore, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga for iOS will have mobile gamers enjoying endless hours of gameplay.”

The game boasts 120 characters and allows you to play as either a Jedi Knight or Sith Lord. You can also play as Han Solo if you desire, with 36 levels in total. If you download the app, you’ll get The Phantom Menace for free, but you’ll need to pay for the other episodes. Other modes, missions and levels are also available via micro-transactions.

Powered by Unreal Engine, Infinity Blade was a forerunner for mobile gaming in the day, helping iOS reach even greater heights in its gaming line-up in terms of what the hardcore audience anticipated. The first game will be compatible with most devices, so you won’t need to worry about your iPhone 4, 4S, 5 or 5S running the game. Will it look as sharp on the Retina Display as Infinity Blade 3 does? Maybe not, but it’s still a solid game.

Check out our top reasons why you should Infinity Blade 3 here – and you can even check out our review of Infinity Blade 2, if you’re interested in continuing after the first game, here.

Blur: Overdrive features 25 cars, the ability to customize your vehicles with over 250 customization options, nine different racing modes including Showcase Battle and Eliminator, four racing classes, more than 10 special events, 8 power-ups such as Nitro, Shock, Barge and others which can be used in the same way as in the original game, and yes, in-app purchases as well. Check out the trailer above along with some screenshots for the same.

What are your thoughts on Blur: Overdrive? Let us know in the comments below if you’ve tried the game out and whether it lives up to its console predecessor.

Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios stated that, “We created an integrated gaming ecosystem between the Batman: Arkham Origins mobile and console games, which delivers rewards and unlocks that provide greater experiences for players. The mobile game goes hand-in-hand with what is offered on the other platforms.”

In the free to play title, you’ll be facing off against crooks and eventually working your way up to Gotham’s most lethal assassins. You’ll be able to unlock different suits, earn currency and further upgrade Batman. NetherRealm is also promising exclusive content for those who own the console version and register with a Warner Bros. ID account.

Batman: Arkham Origins releases on October 25th for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U.

You’ll have control over a Special Forces team, with four members that can be upgraded and customized to tackle different story and custom missions with random objectives. The player will have to decide how to proceed forward, whether to rely on stealth or go in guns blazing, and equipping different weapons for fighting off enemies like local militia and mercenaries. There will be weapons to unlock, more campaigns to come and a high amount of replayability overall.

There will also be different game modes and difficulty modes, and you’ll be able to use either touchscreen or gamepad controls for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Deadman’s Cross will take place in a land of zombies – called Deadmen – as players must hunt them down. The zombies defeated can then be added to the player’s deck in the form of cards (which is actually similar to Square Enix’s Guardian Cross). It will be a free to play title and take place from a 3D perspective. It will also support micro-transactions.

Currently, Deadman’s Cross is slated to be revealed at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show taking place from September 19th to 22nd. It will release for Android and iOS, with the former including iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Are you excited for yet another card-battling RPG from Square Enix on the mobiles?