A few months later in March 2015, Edutainment Weekly quoted Houghton Mifflin Harcourt communications director Jennifer Berlin as saying that there would be future developments regarding an iOS app. It said the game would be 'available soon for free download on '. The first hint of the new game was made on 22 January 2015 via a teaser trailer released on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's YouTube channel entitled ACME Alert: Carmen Sandiego™ is back with a new game!. In each location players search for clues via their fingers' manipulation of the touch pad, and as witnesses offer them information, they can start to build up their warrant. In this version, players have two travel options: normal, and express, the latter of which takes up in-game currency.

Players can track their progress on the leaderboard via the Apple Game Centre.

In the iOS version, each level sees the player start a case, travel the world, collect clues, fill out a warrant, and finally chase the crook. The free version of the game contains Pack 1: Museum Heist! (5 missions), while Pack 1: Museum Heist! (5 missions) and Pack 2: Monumental Emergencies! (10 missions) can be purchased together. The use of puns, which is a staple of the series, is continued here, with names of crooks including 'Hal Apenyo' and 'Bea Carefull'. Intel RealSense Technology allows players to use gesture control to do things like pick up clues and fly a plane. The game comes with an encyclopedia to help players who cannot decrypt a clue.

They can use coins to speed up this travel time. Each case has a time limit, with hours being used whenever the player goes to a new country. Players undertake a street racing minigame when chasing down the crook. In each location, the player hunts for clues using their naked eye, an x-ray, and ultraviolet light, similar to a hidden object game. Players have to travel across the globe, uncovering clues to work out where crooks are hiding.

Carmen sandiego app store