Run even more with the free Temple Run for Windows Phone 8

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We told you this morning it would be a big day for Windows Phone 8 and indeed, it was bigger than we thought (we didn’t see the Nokia firmware thing happening). One of the big runner games today was Gravity Guy 2, which is now out, but a more “classic” game with a totally different perspective is Temple Run.

At the time of our writing, the app was not yet live in the Store but that has now changed. You can pick up Temple Run for $0.00 right now on Windows Phone 8. The game, like on iOS and Android, relies on in-app purchasing (optional) for revenue, hence why it can be free.

Temple Run is a somewhat typical “runner” game where your character evidently subscribes to the Lance Armstrong school of endurance.  But Temple Run, which came out in late 2011 on iOS, shook up the mobile world with its 3D perspective (as opposed to the traditional side scrolling view). You can control your character by tilting your phone left/right, swiping up to jump, down to slide and swiping left/right to quickly turn corners.

Oh and you’re being chased by man-eating apes (or are they giant monkeys?).

We have to admit it’s a hell of a fun game albeit a tiny bit pointless. For some quick distractions and challenging jumps/slides, you can’t go wrong especially with the price. Oh and regarding a Temple Run 2, which just came out in January for iOS, that game is built on the Unity game engine and Unity loves Windows Phone 8, so hopefully there's a chance.

We did notice at least one glitch, the Tile for the game when pinned is blank with a white square. Being an indie title, we can presumably expect a bug fix sooner than later.

Pick up Temple Run for free here in the Windows Phone Store. Windows Phone 8 only and 1GB of RAM required.

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino

Daniel Rubino is the Executive Editor of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft here since 2007, back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Microsoft Surface, laptops, next-gen computing, and arguing with people on the internet.
179 Comments
  • Win 7.8 ? :( :(
  • thats why u better change your phone and switch to Android. I'm very tired of being forget by Microsoft when it comes to app dispatching ! I had a HTC HD7, and not only i couldn't upgrade to WP8, but I cant have most of the new app! I like windows phone because they give a completely and really cool User Interface, but i'm done with them now! Android and iOS already have the Temple Run 2, so bye microsoft !!!
  • Wp 7 series : 2010-2014.
    Wp8 : 2012-2014
    Wp9 : unknown
    Dont worry, wp 8 devices is upgradeable to wp9.
    Its long time. 4year than android, only 6 month.
    Why wp7 dont get wp8? Different kernel system.
  • So why not get a WP8 then?
  • becuase it's miss a lot of important app, and it takes too long to come! WP8 is not bad, but when when wp9 will come they gonna say it's gonna lack some of the new feature, so no thanks. I switched to a nexus 4 nd im very happy with it. Updates come more often
  • Yay! Suck it ios!
  • ... This is sad
  • Yeh.. Lol
  • +1
  • Doesn't work properly on my 8x. Background doesn't render at all. I see more white than jungle. This is truly disappointing.
  • Yep. That, plus crappy frame rate, plus the tile doesn't even show anything (white box). Terrible port.
  • With Lumia 920 everything is fine. Framerate etc. is very good. (only there is no really tile)
  • Ya same with my 920 its fine
  • Yep, fine with me also on my 920
     
  • works fine with my 810
  • All perfect, good fps and tile seems very ok
  • Use black color scheme
  • Runs perfectly on my 8X no problems at all that I've seen so far.
  • I have a 8X. Looks identical with the Lumia 920 (also have that) and iPhone 4S.
  • everything checks out on my 8X, 8GB or 16GB version and how much memory do you have left?
  • I have 16gb version and 9gb left the problem is the theme. Try the game while using the light theme and you'll see the difference
  • Fine with 920. Only issue is that pinned icon only shows a white box.
  • Open App slowly + Bug icon on live tiles.
  • Got the white background issue on my lumia 920 too...
  • Finally! Better late than never... I really hope Temple Run 2 comes out soon!
  • I would happily pay for the Xbox live version .. Make it happen plz
  • It's buggy!
  • what a hot day for windows phone users .......
  • Correction: What a hot day for Windows Phone 8 users...
  • ^This!!  No love for us still on 7.8
  • +1 but sad D:
  • No problems here with my 920.
  • Played 47 times.... No bugs for me 920.
  • Turn on the light theme and see what everyone's talking about.
  • lol, you sure you played enough times??? :)
  • OMG i knew it only for 1GB RAM phones.. This is outrageous!! This game runs fine on low end android phones!!! Why can't it run on my 620!! T.T >ㅁ
  • So far it seems games come out with the 1GB requirement and with an optimization update, it gets reduced to 512MB. 
  • Well, I hope they update it soon.. Meanwhile I will be playing Gravity Guy 2!!
  • Well I hope it remains free till it gets reduced for 512 people
  • hope they make it work on 7.8 somehow!
  • My lime green 620 is sad... :(
  • It runs on my ipod touch 2G, which i suppose has only 128MB RAM!!!!:-(
     
  • How can this game need 1 GB of RAM?
     
    Oh, well. I'm glad someone was wrong in saying it would be $0.99.
  • Is it downloadable from the windows phone 7 store?
  • Engadget was wrong on the price! Awesome!!
  • Of course its Engadget.
  • No problems on my 8x either.
  •  but windows phone 7 ??? any good game for us ? 
  • Sigh...
  • You guys get chaos rings!! It's wp7 only
  • Were did you hear that? I've read that its for both 7 and 8.
  • Nope it's only windows phone 7 don't know why Daniel or anyone hasn't spoke about it
  • you mean wp8?
     
  • No I mean wp7. Try to download it for your wp8 device it won't work. Then try your wp7 device. Wahlah magic! http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=eba66c26-8fa0-4f07-bef8-ff03f7bce73d
  • No issues for me on 8x. However better graphics would not make this game interesting to me.
  • Got it. Looks great. Tile thing not an issue for me. I don't pin any of my games to the main screen. I am just not that lazy..
  • It's not purely laziness after a certain point. I have 33 games installed on my Lumia 920. Games don't get the alphabetical headers like regular apps, making it something of an inconvenience to get to the game you want. Windows Phone touts its simplicity in use and navigation, and pinning games to the Start screen is a part of that for some. Now, I fully admit that:
    1. I don't play most of those games a lot.
    2. I have some installed just to try them to give developers quality feedback so that the know customers re dedicated to supporting them.
    3. Some are installed purely for my little brothers to play, if they go desire. I personally have 4 games pinned: Skulls of the Shogun, Gun Bros, Asphalt 7, and Plants vs. Zombies. I did it so that all of them are 1x1 tiles on the right half of the screen an the Games hub is a 2x2 tile on their left, kind of like being an "All Games" tile and a "Freguent Games" tile. It works for me, not that I'm saying you're doing anything wrong in the slightest. My statement is to point out that some people do find it useful, and it the tie is broken, it will be crappy when my brothers go into Kid's Corner.
  • Aww, was looking forward to this... but 1gb devices only : /
     
    Hopefully a 512mb version out soon.
     
    Looks like i will need to upgrade to a gig device soon. Lumia 820?
  • I would spend the extra money for a 920. Since games cannot be installed onto the SD card, you'd be liited to just 8 GB of storage for games. The 920 has 32 GB, though no microSD slot, but that 32 GB can all be used for games (minus the space used for the formattng and the OS).
  • I hope this wasn't the app Belfiore was teasing because we really need cross platform social and communication apps like Viber and Instagram. Games are for gamers only. I hope this isn't it.
  • I think it is because he seems to be boasting a bit on the ole Twitter.
  • Lol instagay!
  • Whether you think its gay or not, Instagram is the most important app to the success of any platform. And you are gay if you don't believe that.
  • The game works fine on my Lumia 920, the only problem is the app tile, when u pin it to the start screen, its a blank tile with a white box, wtf ?? Anyways loving the game, hope its not long until we see TR2
  • Just curious, what is WPCentral's definition of an indie title?  Everything not Xbox Live enabled?
  • I've never played this game on other platforms, but it seems that the swipe gestures are a little rough. This also could be indicative of how terrible my reflexes are. Using a L920.
  • +999999 same here :/
  • Works like a charm on my Lumia 920!
  • Not what I expected. There are better games out there. Just have to search. Hype for nothing.
  • You can't imagine how glad i am that i am not the only one that sees nothing special about this game.
  • Why not for 7.8 :(
    It runs perfectly well on single core Android devices ..:'(
  • Having come from a Samsung Galaxy i can assure you it didn't. It crashed, it staggered, it was frequently unplayable. I eventually got it running on a stripped down custom rom, but even then it would sometimes glitch out. Still WP is better than Android so hopefully they'll get it running on 7.8 and 512mb devices. Probably have a month of optimisations on WP8 devices before that comes tho. Silly waste of time game mind you, I'd rather not have it jn a way...
  • I love my WP .. Just hope they do ..
  • Downloading it right now
  • Too bad 1 GB only.
  • It's taking forever to download it.
  • Got the white background glitch....jesus I love my windows phone. Had one the first day it launched but this is sad
  • I'm on a Lumia 920 and also experiencing this glitch.
    WTF is the deal on this. It's such a simple game, both conceptually and graphically. There's no excuse for major issues like this. It's unplayable on my device, despite uninstalling and re-installing.
  • People say it happens if you have a light theme enabled, switch to black and see how it goes. Bad testing is all, I'm sure they'll come out with a fix soon, no need to panic.
  • Installed,played I confirm its butter smooth on my 920.
  • Yeah works great on my 920. Too many games to play all of a sudden! Not complaining though!
  • No issues on 822 (: Finally here, better late then never is definitely trending on the Windows platforms. Instagram soon?(:
  • Bit buggy but tolerable. Feels like im playing it on an android phone... Hoping for fixes soon
  • 920 worked fine.
  • Lumia 920. Works great, though I swear its a little slow reading my swipes. I get the white block when pinning to start as well. Probably rushing it out, they missed that.
  • Can't argue with free!
  • 23 mb game requiring 1 gb ram!! absurd!...dunno whats this internal thing with them. there could be some other sensible reasons to leave out 7.8.
  • Works great on my 920.
  • Running great on my 8X.  I don't pin games to my start screen so I can't comment on that issure.
  • Yay! Its a start.
  • Why are the graphics, lets say subpar or lackluster. This is Windows 8, I expect more we are capable of more.
  • They made the investment to port the game to windows phone platform. They were not going to invest in updating the assets and a battery of new QA tests it hey changed the models. This was the best for them to port the code and reuse the assests. Lowest cost of production best ROI
  • Couldn't they have at least called it Temple Run 3?
  • I FIGURED OUT A FIX FOR THE WHITE RENDERING ERRORS:
    It's simple. Switch the background of your homescreen to black rather than white. As soon as I made that adjustment, I was able to play normally. The weird rendering only happened when the background color was white.
    Clearly the bug needs to be fixed, still, but this  is a temporary way to overcome it and play!
    Please let me know if this fix works for you, too!
  • Worked. Thanks.
  • Anybody else notice their phone heating considerably while playing? L920
  • what the heeeeeeeel!!1!!!  i am fed up with windows 8 phone.... never in mylife will a buy a phone on this forsaken platform... i litterally have no game on my phone nooooooo fudging game... because all the good games require 1 gb of ram... even this teeny tiny game that is 23mb requires i gb of ram why???????????what  the hell i am so p***ed of..... i have resisted, asphalt 7, batman TDK, spiderman, real football, but temple run noooooo no mudda fudging way... i hate windows phone and i wish i never bought a phone on this stupid platform.... sticking to android from now on... absolute nonsense
  • Android seems to suit you well. You shouldn't wait any longer, they even have devices with 256mb. Woot.
  • iregretreadingyourcomment, see ya!
  • +1 million lol
  • Hopefully they update it for 512MB devices....
  • Adios. Android loves people like you.
  • See ya!!;
  • You really created a separate id/changed id on the forum just to post this drivel? They have ported asphalt 7 to phones with 512 Mb and there are many other games ported as well. why spread the fud? Really, this post is a waste of reading. And curse properly if you're going to do it.
  • lol
  • Don't do freemium, but not going to whine about it either, I have plenty of full games available. So, have fun, Windows Phone for life!
  • been playing this game and it doesnt always get my swipe gestures right. some time it wont even register my swipe. i've noticed if its a really long swipe it will, but if i just flick upward to jump instead of a long finger move across the screen my toon wont jump. may be some kind of issue with the app and the screen sensitivity setting.
  • Try maxing out the sensitivity
  • I've noticed the same thing, even with the sensitivity at maximum: my swipes are not always registered.  Nokia Lumia 920.
  • Same thing here. Normally happens later on in thelevel. 
  • Tile issue JB said would be coming in an update soon, they pushed it out fast I guess to release with some of these other games.
  • I don't understand people buying a 512 mb device to play games. My parents have those, it's perfect for them. If it was supposed to perform as well and run everything as the 1gb, why would the latter exist. It's like people think specs are only to brag about in sites. 512mb are lovely devices, real pretty, but get some sense, it's not, it can't be the same.
  • +1000
  • I don't think you get it, people don't buy lower specced devices intentionally, they buy them because they cannot afford high end devices. Do you know which device has 512 MB RAM, iPhone 4,4S...
    and guess what all the 1GB RAM only games work on it perfectly.
    it can even run really high quality games such as infinity blade. And the only reason these games do not work on my 620, which is better specced than every other iPhone except 5 is because developer isn't optimizing them.
    It's a lose-lose situation.
  • I agree with you
  • Works like charm on Lumia 920 :)
  • My Lumia 820 can't hold as many apps as the 920, I regret my life, Android is dope, tra-la-la.
    I can do ridicule!
  • What the fuck is going on?
    Since when did Temple Run require 1gb of ram?
    It works fine on android devices having 512 mb ram...
  • Finally!!!!
  • I don't understand why this game can run on any andriod and ios but not 512n equipped wp8. The latest real racing can run in on a single core iPhone 4with no issue what so ever. What's wrong with you Microsoft. You r killing the platform. Wp8 is officially dead!!!
  • Relax, game developer just has to modify it to run on less ram for 512 Mb devices seems like a common thing with a lot of games. Wait a few weeks = golden
  • Hope this will be the case
  • If they modify the app to perform smoothly on devices of 512 Mb, could it be ported over to WP7x?
  • Good question, from what i read it is easier to port apps to wp8, I hope it comes for my wp7 sisters and brothers also.
  • Instead of whinging, maybe you should ask the developer on why there isn't yet 512MB support. 
  • I don't understand why this game can run on any andriod and ios but not 512n equipped wp8. The latest real racing can run in on a single core iPhone 4with no issue what so ever. What's wrong with you Microsoft. You r killing the platform. Wp8 is officially dead!!!
  • I am assuming this is a dupe.
  • I love the live tile on it!!!
  • Lol...
  • I like how it performs on my 810. I think it has a pretty decent frame rate. I'm sure most know now about the live tile problem. Other than that, I'm partially satisfied. :) Now I'm waiting for Ruzzle to release...I've never played that game, but in a way I have, since it's like Wordament.
  • A free game, yay! Almost out of storage now :-( I own 61 + games and im running low on space, so plz stop making games now ok? Ok. :D
  • Here I was expecting some major APP to be released and all we get are games. Maybe mr Belfiore should be more specific with his "news teasing",
  • Didn't he say fun games in his defense?
  • Have it, seems rushed and glitches here and there. Joe Belfiore said an update is coming to address the bugs... Truly a freemium game for WP. Thumbs up for this.!! :)
  • Its not even temple run 2!!!!!!!!
  • was this the app that Joe belfiore was teasing about the other day ?? if so i am dissapointed ...
  • What about all the other games today? I believe there were at least six.
  • Just  me or does it not recognise gestures very often? Like I swipe up and it does nothing at times
  • I heard that if you adjust your sensitivity it may address the issue.
  • Wow, this is what the cool kids are playing? Its really dull....
  • This....with bells on.
  • Hey...I remember one of you guys @WPCentral made an article about Temp. Run maybe coming May, along with Real Racing 3, and Instagram. Temple run was born to WP8 prematurely. I wonder which app of the 3 may be born next...
  • No tile hahaha
  • Increase the sensitivity. Works wonders.
  • No support for Nokia 620?if they keep doing things like this they wont be able to capture market share from Android.
  • They're fragmenting the OS by not releasing apps for devices with 512 MB RAM. when it runs fine on Android phones with the same RAM I don't see the problem. Keep on doing this and see sales drop for Lumia 620 and 720. Sad
  • So is this the App Joe B. was teasing on Twitter or are we still wating on that one?
  • I was waiting and wanting this game so much, and now i find out that it requires 1GB ram. (have htc 8s) I can't believe it, bad graphics, old game and it isn't available for 512 devices. I played Temple run when i had Nexus one which has an adreno 200 gpu, sigle core 1ghz processor and also 512 ram (not to mention buggy android) and it still worked perfectly fine. Shame.
  • So I just tried Temple Run.
    After all the hype, I was expecting a fun, good game. Sadly, not my cup of tea. I cant really see why the big fuss. People were talking like it was Halflife 3, turned out to be Daikatana.
    Ah well, didnt cost me anything at least :)
  • Yay! Fun little game that I was really missing from my iPhone 4. I actually prefer TR1 over TR2. Sometimes the game doesn't register my swipes, but I'm not sure it was any better on old phone.
  • Runs perfect on my 822. Now where is the thread complaining about Chaos Rings only being available on 7.x devices... I'm steaming pissed and was ready to throw money down. I hope it comes out soon...
  • Doesn't work on my HTC 8S :(
  • WP 7.8???
    I. HATE. Microsoft.
  • Temple run...finally...runs smooth on my Lumia 920...
  • Getting this now!
  • Windows phone 7x users who have 512 ram Microsoft said, temple run is not for you. Go and sell your mobile and get good android smartphones.
  • Wtf dude? A low end android with 512 Mb will lag running temple run. We will save how android does with tizen and wp8 providing more competition at all price points.
  • You're right dude! I was planning to get lumia 720 but I think I have to stick to android... Maybe Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus..
  • the white tile issue is something i got when going for the iconic tile template, didn't know how to fix it. Switched it to flip tile template and worked! I am sure temple run guys have done the same and have not bothered to check if the tile works or not. Wonder how it passed through certification with such glaring bug visible.
  • What the fuck is going on?
    Since when did Temple Run require 1gb of ram? In window phone many mobile phone having 512 mb ram so why Temple run not support 512 mb ram , i am a big fan of Window phone and Nokia but know i think that Microsoft not think for there customers....I hope the time will come when everyone leaving Window phone for there bad support
    It works fine on android devices having 512 mb ram...
  • You are kidding right? Nokia just updated to firmware 1308 and Microsoft just showed its buildwindows site, with a prominent place for windows phone. The game will get fixed in a few weeks to run on 512 Mb. Watch.
  • Few weeks more oh shit man too much time ....
  • Boo hooo...buy a 920. Problem solved.
  • It show that how much Microsoft shows are performance
  • This sucks. I get that getting the big apps is huge for Microsoft, but come on. Temple Run 2 is out and we are JUST NOW getting the first one. How long til the second one? These aps being released lately aren't exciting at all. Just shows how much catching up Microsoft really needs to do. I love my 920 and WP8, but these aps are kiling me. I've been on board since WP7, and I'm starting to get impatient. When all my friends are playing the latest and greatest with each other, I'm finaly getting around to downloading what they had a year and a half ago. Great game, but I'll be excited when we start getting the new apps,and not have to settle for the knock offs and games that the other guys have been over long ago.
  • And I love the fact that its free by the way. Not very ofton one of the apps released that are free on other platforms are free for us as well. Hopefully the trend continues.
  • i was planning to buy 512 device as it is not possible for me to afford high end device.. If this game dont come on 512, how can be the tr2?? If 512 version not come in a month, i will be forced to buy the malwaree android.. *sorry for my bad english
  • Not available for your phone! Am using Lumia 920!
  • Not available for 7.x devices, I hate you Microsoft.
  • Wtf isn't this available yet in the Swedish app store?
  • Great app, where's Temple run 2??
  • Well it landed in the app store eventually. Works flawlessly and smooth on my Lumia 820. Now we want subway surfer and instagram and we're in business.
  • OMG!!! NO 7.8??????????????  I'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE LIKE FOREVER AND THEY DON'T GIVE IT TO ME!! WOW!!!!!!!!  WOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
  • How about wp7.5?
  • Temple run is working lot of bugs in windows phone. Android and ios are good for temple run. Microsoft was forgot wp7.8 users. Microsoft will forgot when wp9 will been released.
  • Gud to c temple run app in wp8.. but the problem is tilt is not working properly in lumia 920 ...have to fix the bug asap
  • No more love for 7.5? Hmm...and Microsoft says they will continue to support it. I can't wait until the galaxy note 3 comes out. Windows is a very nice OS, but they still have so much catching up to do.
  • I hope this temple run will also work with my lumia 620 :(
  • still no temple run in windows 7.8...??