Watch Apple’s WWDC keynote right here

Apple is hosting its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote today, June 9th, at 6pm BST (10am PDT) and you can watch the stream right here.

The special event comes at a key time for the tech giant, which faces legal and regulatory pressure on the App Store ecosystem.

A recent ruling in the Epic Games vs. Apple court case cracked open the US App Store, enabling publishers to link out to alternative payment methods while also preventing anti-steering measures. Further pressure from the judge has also led to the return of Fortnite to the App Store in the country. The decision is big ramifications for the mobile apps market.

The case is still ongoing pending an appeal by Apple, which could still potentially reverse recent changes.

Meanwhile, the European Union is also putting regulatory pressure on Apple’s store policies, namely the right to link out and use alternative payment systems. The European Commission recently fined the company €500 million ($570m) for breaching the Digital Markets Act. The firm faces further fines if it does not comply with the EU’s ruling.

Dedicated gaming app

Whether Apple makes any nod to recent developments, directly or indirectly, remains to be seen.

One announcement that is expected during the event is the unveiling of a new dedicated games app aimed at beefing up its offerings for developers and consumers.

The new gaming app is reported to include editorial content on new titles, direct access to the App Store’s games section, and promotion of the Apple Arcade subscription service. It will also replace the Game Center, which launched in 2010. 

The app will act as a central hub for launching games, tracking achievements, leaderboards, and managing in-game communications. 

The report comes as Apple acquired two-person development team RAC7, which released Sneaky Sasquatch on Apple Arcade.

We wrote about why this year's WWDC represents a big moment for Apple here.