Unreleased iOS Games: How To Play An Upcoming iPhone Game Before Its U.S. Release

iOS game developers typically soft launch their apps in confined App Store markets such as Australia, New Zealand or the Philippines before releasing them for U.S. audiences.

They do this to work out any quirks or issues that their QA department may have missed, as the relative population size of those countries compared to the U.S. contains any damage those bugs may have on an app’s App Store rating.

Tinder for example soft launched a new group service called Tinder Social in Australia, and in the past has 86’d experimental features, such as matching two of your Facebook friends together, before they could make their way across the Pacific Ocean.

1. Log out of your iTunes Account.
   1. iOS
      1. Navigate to the first tab in the App Store, scroll to the bottom, click on the button containing your Apple ID email address and select “Sign Out”
   2. iTunes
      1. Click on the button labeled with your Apple ID in the App Store tab and select “Sign Out”
2. Change your App Store Country
   1. iOS
      1. Create a new account and in the first screen, select the country you want to base your Apple ID out of.
         1. Hit next and then agree to the iTunes terms and conditions.
      2. Cancel the account creation and restart the App Store by swiping up in the app-switcher screen.
   2. iTunes
      1. Scroll all the way to bottom of the iTunes splash page and find the little round icon with a flag inside of it.
         1. Should be in the bottom right of the window.
      2. Click on the circle and choose the flag of the country you want to base your Apple ID out of.
3. Find a free app while in the iTunes store of that country
   1. Make sure it’s a free app or game, and then hit install.
      1. If the app or game costs money, you’ll be forced to submit payment information.
4. Account creation
   1. Once you hit install, you’ll be prompted to create a new account.
      1. Use a secondary Gmail account, or some sort of backup email address you haven’t already signed up to iTunes with.
5. Success:
   1. You’ll need to log in and out of the Apple ID to switch back to the U.S. version of the App Store, and vice versus.

Did this trick work for you? Post your success stories (or pleas for help!) in the comment section below, and what upcoming games you had your eye on to try.