Google Play Pass: Enjoy apps and games without ads or in-app purchases

Google has launched their app and game subscription service in the US this week. Google Play Pass comes soon after the US launch of Apple Arcade for iOS with the two companies looking to hit the ground running with their respective subscription models.

Play Pass has launched with 350 games and apps with about two-thirds of the content being games.

If you haven’t been keeping up to date with the subscription service Play Pass will give users full access to premium games and apps, and all apps will be completely ad-free.

Here’s what you need to know about Google Play Pass

The service will cost $4,99 (approximately R76) per month in the US. At the moment Google is offering users a free ten-day trial along with an introductory offer that will allow users to pay $1,99 for the first 12 months after which the price will revert to $4,99.

“To make all of these apps and games easier to find, we’ve added a new Play Pass tab for subscribers. Play Pass apps and games can still be found throughout the Play Store–just look for the Play Pass “ticket.” All apps and games found on the Play Pass homepage or throughout the Play Store with the ticket are completely unlocked with your subscription.”

Google Blog

As mentioned previously, Google Play Pass has only launched in the US currently, but the company says that they will be launching in other countries, including South Africa, soon.

Easy sign-up process

I’ve managed to sign up via the US Playstore, and the sign-up is quick and easy, and you are immediately able to choose from hundreds of paid games and apps.

The inclusion of apps in the service is a key differentiator to Apple Arcade. Apple Arcade is also available for $4.99 but doesn’t have any introductory discount. In addition, as you can gather from its name the Apple service only gives users access to games.

Games, premium apps and indie gems up for grabs

Google have included a good combination of useful apps, premium games and indie gems and besides the quality of the apps, one of the best selling points of the service could just be the ease of use and discovery.

The Google Play Store is just generally too cluttered, which isn’t helped by its unhelpful interface.

If Play Pass does nothing else, it will give users a collection of premium games and apps that have been hand-picked by Google saving you from trying multiple apps before finding the least objectionable one.

Having had a look around Play Pass the last two days, it’s a lot easier to pick a weather app when the full version of Accuweather is available as part of Play Pass.

Here’s what included with Play Pass

So, what apps and games can you look forward to when Play Pass eventually gets to South Africa?

On the game front, Android favourites like Stardew Valley, Monument Valley, Limbo and Risk make the cut. Other games worth checking out include Star Wars: KOTOR, Mini Metro, Old Man’s Journey and Eloh.

On the app side, you get Accuweather as previously mentioned, Moon+ Reader Pro, an e-reader that I had already purchased and highly recommend, as well as Password Manager SafeInCloud Pro and Fast Scanner: Free PDF scanner.