Words Worth Knowing: Companion Apps
Words Worth Knowing was a vertical I wrote weekly explaining key pieces of gaming jargon to parents, guardians and teachers, as part of the larger overall GameHub outreach effort. The column ran for nearly two years and resulted in around 60 WWK articles. GameHubHQ.com closed in late 2017. This piece originally appeared on Nov 02, 2015.
What It Is: Companion App = a mobile game that supports an existing console/pc game.
What It Means: A Companion App is intended to suppliment a game played on the console or PC with additional content. The app might track the player's stats, allow them to chat with other players, or even offer tasks that directly affect the main game.
Why You Care: Companion apps are often a great way to enhance the replayability of your main game. Companion apps tend to be free, and offer useful features to enhance the primary game, such as mini-maps, manuals/guides, and mini-games that interact with the main game. Parents need to be aware, however, that some companion apps also offer functionality not present in the main game, such as the ability to talk to strangers online. Some companion apps also function are shops for virtual or real-world merchandise, so if you don't want your credit card maxed out, that's something to be aware of too!
