It seems that Google is the latest contender to throw its hat into the seemingly never ending sea of subscription services. The tech giant announced Google Play Pass earlier today – roughly a week since the launch of Apple Arcade on iOS devices. While the timing of the announcement may look a little suspicious on the surface, Google insists this program has been in the works for a while now and is intended to encourage more Android users to try out apps that must normally be purchased.
Google Play Pass will launch this week on Android devices and you can try it out with a 10-day free trial. After that you will pay an introductory price of $1.99 USD per month for the first year. That is a limited time promotion though – the regular subscription price is $4.99 USD per month. All games and apps within the collection are free from ads or in-app purchases.
One unusual aspect of Google Play Pass is the fact that Google is not throwing money around to acquire exclusive content. The service also offers a number of non-gaming applications such as Accuweather. Some of the games that are in the service or will be coming soon include Stardew Valley, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, This War of Mine and Terraria. Apps that are included in Google Play Pass can be identified in the store with a brightly colored ticket icon.
Subscribers can share access to the library of apps with up to five members according to Google. You will never lose access to any included app even if one of your family members is using it on their own device (so long as your subscription is valid, of course.)
If you are interested in trying out the service for yourself, simply open up the Google Play Store on your Android device. Open the menu on the left side of the home screen and look for the “Google Play Pass” button.
