Last week, Apple released their mobile game subscription service, Apple Arcade, on iOS devices. Now, Google has announced their competing mobile game subscription service called Google Play Pass which is coming to Android devices, at least in the United States, later this week with a release in other countries coming at a later date.
Upon launch, Google Play Pass will feature over 350 different apps and games for players to experience. Similarly to Apple Arcade, all apps and games on Google Play Pass will feature no ads or microtransactions which run rampant in the mobile sphere. Another similarity between the two services is that they both cost $4.99 a month. However, Google Play Pass will have a special offer for users to get a year subscription for just $1.99 per month.
Unlike Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass appears to be more about discovery more than anything. All of the 350+ titles on the service are already currently available on the Google Play Store for users to buy or download. More games and apps will be added for users to discover each month. Now, Maria Sayans, the CEO of the hit Monument Valley series developer Ustwo, stated, “Play Pass helps encourage people to try new experiences they would not have otherwise.”
Once the service is live, users will be able to find Play Pass on the menu tab of the Google Play Store. There will also be a dedicated Play Pass tab for users once they subscribe to the service. All games and apps on the services will also feature a Play Pass “ticket” to easily tell what is on the service.
For those interested in Google Play Pass, there will be a ten day free trail for users to try out the plethora of apps and games on the service.