Apple has quietly acquired the team and core assets behind Play, a highly acclaimed SwiftUI prototyping application, in a move poised to supercharge its native software development ecosystem. The secret acquisition, which began in February 2026, was recently brought to light through regulatory filings published by the European Union. Under the strict new rules of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), large technology corporations are required to report acquisitions that could impact the European software landscape, leading to the public disclosure following a mandatory four-month waiting period.
Developed by the studio Rabbit 3 Times, Play served as a powerful mobile and desktop design tool tailored for creators building user interfaces. The software stood out by allowing designers to construct interactive prototypes directly on their iPhone or Mac using native Apple frameworks, specifically SwiftUI and Core Animation. Once the visual mapping and interaction design were complete, users could seamlessly export their projects straight into Xcode to finalize the underlying code.
The tool's deep integration with Apple's ecosystem earned it a prestigious Apple Design Award in the Innovation category in June 2025.
Play is a sophisticated yet accessible tool that lets users build interactive prototypes with SwiftUI frameworks. Its thoughtfully crafted user interface is both powerful and easy to navigate, helping designers create interactive prototypes and collaborate across Mac and iPhone, all synced in real time for seamless creativity.
- Apple
Following the acquisition, the Play app has been officially pulled from the App Store. Rabbit 3 Times ceased all support for its iPhone and Mac applications on April 20, 2026. To ease the transition for its dedicated user base, the developers temporarily made the premium Xcode export feature available for free before permanently taking down their official website.
The Inevitable Evolution of Xcode
This acquisition signals a clear strategic shift for Apple's developer tools. By absorbing the talent behind Play, Apple is likely preparing to integrate native, visual prototyping directly into Xcode or Swift Playgrounds. For years, developers have relied on third-party platforms like Figma to map out user interfaces before translating them into SwiftUI. Bringing Play's intuitive, drag-and-drop native framework capabilities in-house could drastically reduce the friction between the design and coding phases.
Furthermore, the timing of this EU disclosure highlights how the Digital Markets Act is forcing unprecedented transparency onto Silicon Valley's stealth acquisitions. While the standalone Play app is now defunct, its DNA will almost certainly resurface in upcoming macOS and iOS developer betas, potentially democratizing app creation for a new generation of creators who lack deep coding expertise.
