Google Play Store Reportedly Adding Play Pass Monthly Subscription For Apps
Google's Play Store is home to millions of apps for Android phones and tablets, so there is no shortage of content for anyone entrenched in the Android camp. That includes a whole bunch of games, both free and paid. With regards to the latter, Google might be prepping a "Play Pass" subscription service that would purportedly give Android users access to paid games for a monthly fee.
Nothing of the sort has been announced or even teased by Google, at least not officially. Unofficially, however, there are clues that point to a Play Pass subscription being in the works. The first one dates back to June of this year. That's when an XDA 'Recognized Developer', Kieron Quinn, dug into an APK and found a reference to a Play Store feature called Play Pass.
At the time, there was not much information to be gleaned. There was no way to enable the feature, though decompiling the code showed that a subscription was part of the unreleased feature, or so it seemed.
Faster forward to today and there is more evidence of a Play Pass subscription service being imminent. XDA has gotten its hands on a screenshot of a Google Opinion Rewards survey that was taken by one of Kieron's friends. The survey question asks how the user would feel about a "Pass" subscription.
"Imagine your app store has a subscription that offers hundreds of dollars worth of paid apps and games for a monthly fee. How well does "Pass" describe this service?," the survey asks.
From our vantage point, it seems Google is determined to roll out a subscription service, and is now trying to decide what to call it. Notice that Google isn't asking the user for an opinion about the service itself and whether they would benefit from it, but if they think "Pass" accurately describes such a service.
We'll have to wait for more details to emerge, such as when Play Pass might emerge and what it will cost. It will also be interesting to see if Google offers an all-encompassing entertainment bundle with its YouTube Music and/or YouTube Premium services.
