Apple’s TestFlight archives from roughly 2012 to 2015 have leaked, exposing the files for thousands of iOS apps and mobile games in their beta forms.
In addition to early development builds of games that have modern full releases, this leak - known as the "teraleak" for its sheer size - includes legacy titles that are no longer available on the App Store. The leak emanated from the internet archive Wayback Machine, which could still access server files of old titles.
Apple’s TestFlight is an online service that enables developers to launch apps for beta testing, simplifying the process of inviting users to beta builds and allowing developers to collate feedback on their apps and games before full release.
TestFlight has functionality across Apple’s hardware suite, including macOS, tvOS, iPadOS and, of course, iOS. It allows both internal and external app testing with various builds able to be simultaneously trialled. And up until now, these builds have only remained active for 90 days.
Nostalgia trip
But with the teraleak, data for games over a decade old have been found and leaked to the public, with thousands of apps and games in prototype form discovered as IPA files.
While TestFlight is designed to allow developers to invite external beta testers, it also allows up to 100 staff members to hold accounts and test their studios’ games during the iteration process. This means there is also the possibility that games have been leaked that external beta testers didn’t get a glimpse of either.
Then, of course, there are the games that have ended service and been delisted from the Apple App Store in recent years. Whilst no longer playable, if their IPA files are uncovered from the 2012 to 2015 period, earlier builds may become playable again via sideloading.
Coincidentally, European regulations dictate that Apple must open up to sideloading in 2024.
The teraleak will be of particular interest to game preservationists, with many titles no longer available to the public.
We previously spoke with video game preservation and research specialist Professor James Newman about what can be done to preserve mobile titles.
