Odd GameStore app by Apple appears in App Store (Updated)

Everyone with an iPhone is familiar with Game Center, but have you ever heard of GameStore? Discovered by Florian Schimanke, it's a game-oriented app from Apple that went live on December 31st. Unlike other iOS apps from Apple, which are well-known and well-publicized, GameStore is a mystery.

As far as we know, Apple has not publicly acknowledged the app. It appeared without any fanfare and is only a shell. The description is very sparse and says only, "This application allows you to buy different things from within the app."

The app costs 99-cents, and you can buy and download it to your iPhone. The app itself is barebones but references to "F1 Grand Prix Track" and "Laser Gun" suggests it'll let you by in-game items for your characters and profile. There's also a cart and a checkout process that'll track recent items and let you restore your past purchases.

There are lots of things Apple can do with this app, but the obvious theory is that Apple is launching an App Store for in-app items. Anyone care to guess what Apple has up its sleeve?

Update: Apple has pulled the app.