Google has introduced its Apple Arcade counterpart. It will also cost $4.99 and will be released this week
There will also be a subscription to premium games on Google Play. Today, on September 23, the final details about the Google Play Pass service appeared.
This is a complete analogue of Apple Arcade on the Android platform. The key difference is that Apple places mobile exclusives in its service, Google — any more or less noticeable premium releases that have already been released on the platform before.
For example, Google Play Pass subscribers will be able to play titles such as Stardew Valley, Risk, Terraria, Monument Valley, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Reigns: Game of Thrones, Titan Quest and Limbo.
In total, access to 350 programs is planned at the start. And not all of them will be gaming. For example, a Facetune photo retouching app and AccuWeather weather forecast will appear.
All applications within the subscription, which will be $ 4.99 per month (in the first year of use, the cost of the service will be lower — $ 1.99), will be fully unlocked, deprived of any IAP and advertising.
The release of Google Play Pass will take place in the USA this week. When the service will appear in other regions, it is not reported. They only promise that “soon”.
As in the case of Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass also added a separate tab-section in the lower menu of the store. In this section you will find all products that support subscription. That’s just the bookmark here is just a content filter. The user will also see subscription games in the main sections of Google Play. They will be accompanied by a “ticket” icon.
This suggests that Google is not using Play Pass to build a new closed ecosystem, as Apple does. Rather, it offers a light add-on over the store, which, in theory, will allow premium products that have already been released on the site to finally start earning with Android.
How exactly developers will earn from the service is not specified. TechCrunch writes with reference to Google about this: “The more people download a title from Play Pass, the more revenue developers will receive.”
Google does not plan to pay directly for development or for exclusivity. At the same time, those who have not subscribed to the service will be able to purchase premium games.
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