Apple today announced the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards, recognizing 17 apps and games for their technical ingenuity and lasting cultural impact.
Apple said this year’s group of winning developers delivered remarkable experiences that empowered users to achieve more, bring their ideas to life, and immerse themselves in stunning worlds.
The winning apps and games were hand-selected by App Store Editors from a list of 45 finalists for demonstrating exceptional innovation, user experience, and design. Apple said that the App Store reaches 800 million weekly visitors in 175 countries and 40 languages. Getting featured in the awards for the store is a big deal for these apps and games.
“Every year, we’re inspired by the ways developers turn their best ideas into innovative experiences that enrich people’s lives,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “This year’s winners represent the creativity and excellence that define the App Store, and they demonstrate the meaningful impact that world-class apps and games have on people everywhere.”
Apple said the App Store remains the best place for users to discover and download apps and games, and this year’s winners showcase the endless possibilities available across Apple’s ecosystem.
Apple recently launched its Apple Games app as a way to centralize game services for players and allow them to discover more new games that match their interests. I was able to interview three of the winners, as you’ll see below.
The games
In the gaming category, Pokémon TCG Pocket’s amazing artwork, thrilling battles, and iPhone-friendly interface are a remarkably fun evolution of Pokémon card battles. As creepy as it is cozy, Dredge immerses iPad users in a charming fishing game with a haunting mystery. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition stuns with its futuristic sci-fi metropolis, and What the Clash? delivers nonstop laughter with silly, never-before-seen competitions. On Vision Pro, Porta Nubi transforms environments so players truly feel like they are a part of its atmospheric puzzles.
The apps
Tiimo offers users an impressive visual planner and thoughtfully implemented AI that turns aspirations into actionable next steps. Detail’s AI editing tools democratize the video production process for both aspiring and seasoned creators on iPad, and Essayist tackles the time-consuming work of formatting academic papers on Mac, powered by AI tools. Explore POV on Apple Vision Pro whisks users to the most stunning locations around the world — all in breathtaking Apple Immersive Video. Strava excels on Apple Watch, connecting a community of athletes with a sleek design and real-time segment tracking. HBO Max offers a more inclusive streaming experience with American Sign Language additions and an expansive entertainment lineup.
2025 App Store Award Winners
Apps
iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo, from tiimo.
iPad App of the Year: Detail, from Detail Technologies B.V.
Mac App of the Year: Essayist, from Essayist Software Inc.
Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV, from James Hustler.
Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava, from Strava, Inc.
Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max, from WarnerMedia Global Digital Services, LLC.
Games
iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket, from The Pokemon Company.
iPad Game of the Year: Dredge, from Black Salt Games.
Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, from CD PROJEKT S.A.
Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi, from Michael Temper.
Apple Arcade Game of the Year: What the Clash?, from Triband ApS.
Cultural Impact Winners
In addition to recognizing apps and games across Apple devices, App Store Editors selected six Cultural Impact winners for their ability to drive meaningful change. These apps and games were recognized for their positive impact, providing users with helpful tools, promoting understanding, and shaping a more inclusive world.
Art of Fauna from Klemens Strasser
Art of Fauna turns wildlife illustration from around the world into relaxing puzzles and sets a new standard for accessible game design.
Chants of Sennaar from Playdigious
Chants of Sennaar celebrates the power of language through a thought-provoking adventure.
despelote from Panic, Inc.
despelote crafts an intimate slice-of-life story that shares a glimpse into a nation navigating tumult and uniting through their love for soccer.
Be My Eyes from Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes combines the power of AI and millions of global volunteers to help people who are blind or have low vision with everyday activities.
Focus Friend by Hank Green from B-Tech Consulting Group LLC
Focus Friend by Hank Green acts as a powerful ally against digital distractions by gamifying focus sessions with satisfying prizes.
StoryGraph from The StoryGraph
StoryGraph creates an inclusive space for the book community rooted in authenticity through discovery elements that help elevate diverse authors.
Developer interviews
Art of Fauna
Klemens Strasser of Graz, Austria, was the mostly solo developer of Art of Fauna. He made eight games over the years in his spare time — titles like Pocket Shelf, Letter Rooms and Study Snacks.
Last year, he took a big leap. He quit his full-time job in November 2024 and focused all of his time on his new game, Art of Fauna, which is all about animals. He was inspired after discovering the Biodiversity Heritage Library, which has a vast collection of free information about life forms on the planet. He found gorgeous hand-drawn images of animals and couldn’t stop looking at them.
“I knew I had to build something around this,” he said.
He came up with a cozy puzzle game, where the image of an animal is split into many puzzle pieces and you have to put it back together. It has information about the animal, and it has wonderful sounds (the part where Strasser got extra help). The puzzles start easy and get harder. The game launched with 110 puzzles, and it did so well that Strasser updated it regularly and it now has 150 puzzles.
The game also had a strong focus on new Apple technologies like accessibility. Players can set “phobia settings,” toggling off any images with scary things if they wish, like spiders, snakes, reptiles, insects, worms, octopi and eels. Strasser won Apple’s design awards for 2025 for inclusivity, and it also won a cultural impact award for the App Store Awards.
A portion of every purchase supports wildlife conservation, and by the end of the year the app should top 10,000 euros donated. That money has gone toward conserving 1,250 square meters of forest.
The app is also supporting the Bronx Zoo and an effor tto make the Hudson Canyon in New York into a national marine sanctuary. It supports new tech like Liquid Glass and accessibility.
So far, 2.5 million puzzles have been solved and the Art of Fauna has a 4.9 rating out of 5 stars based on 10,000 ratings. Strasser estimated the game has had more than 200,000 downloads. And he’s launching a new game, Art of Flora, on March 19, 2026. You can preorder it now at the one-time purchase price of $9.
Porta Nubi
Michael Temper won the Apple Vision Pro game of the year award for his work on Porta Nubi. This game is also a solo effort.
He became a game maker years ago after he learned that the game Doodle Jump was created by two developers. He started learning how to make games himself and created the Ploppy series of games where players matched tiles. It included kids titles like Ploppy Tales, PloppyPop and PloppyDrop.
When the Apple Vision Pro came out as Apple’s mixed-reality headset, Temper was hooked and decided to make a Ploppy game in the world of 3D — a big switch since all of his prior titles were 2D games. He also wanted to enable people to play with friends in the same game.
Your job in the game is to start with a ray of light and make it go to its destination in a 3D space. If there are clouds in the way, you have to figure out how to add objects and direct the light with mirrors. Then you can make the beam of light reach its endpoint.
You can also dismantle blocking objects and bring it into your living room to play in 3D. As he was making the game, Temper went to Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference and received feedback. He got enough tips to work around problems and improve the mechanics. In Germany and other parts of Europe, he got more support and added support for a PSVR game controller and he started teaching VisionOS development.
In an interview, he said it was a solo effort, except for the parts where he learned how to do tasks from other developers.
“It was quite difficult as my first 3D game,” he said.
The game has had 3,000 downloads. It’s not a lot, but Temper said he is committing to developing more titles on the Apple Vision Pro. In the game, you can get a set of levels for free and then buy additional levels in packs. Temper lives in Vienna, Austria.
Chants of Sanaar
This game won for cultural impact and it was the product of multiple teams in Paris, France.
Rundisc made the original game for the PC and consoles, and it was published by Focus Entertainment. Then Playdigious came on board to port the game to iOS on mobile.
That task involved created full customizable touch controls, said Cléa Xuereb, communication manager at Playdigious, in an interview with GamesBeat. The Playdious team worked closely with Rundisc to adapt the game to iOS and make it easier to play.
“It’s a love letter to language and connection,” said Xuereb. “The core concept is language and puzzles, inspired by the myth of Babel.”
The focus is on observation, exploration and puzzle solving.
“You are a traveler to a new territory and have to explore different places and bring different people together to break prejudices,” Xuereb said. “It’s focused on culture through visuals.”
The game’s look is Middle Eastern, as it has Moorish Arabic architecture, blended with Brutalist touches. But it’s not set in the real world and the languages in the game were created by the game developers.
“The alphabets are completely invented,” Xuereb said. “It took a lot of research to make it look accessible yet foreign.”
The goal is to convey culture through language, and you play as five different people from different cultures in the game. They have their own language and grammar, and you deduce meaning through context and social interactions.
You are a traveler aimed at understanding them. You have to act as an interpreter to resolve conflict and help each person in the tower to understand each other.
The main message of the game is culture. The mobile game uses a try-before-you-buy business model. The game has 4.7 stars out of 5, and it’s one of Playdigious’ most popular games this year with more than 100,000 downloads.
About 10 of Playdigious’ 35 people worked on the game over 18 months. It sells on average for $7.99.