While the streaming service, Stadia, has been taking up all the talking space for Google in gaming, it seems they’re also slipping another gaming-based subscription service out there in the form of Play Pass, a potential rival to Apple’s Apple Arcade mobile initiative.
It was announced earlier in the year that Apple was going to have a new subscription service on their iOS devices called Apple Arcade, one they’re apparently putting lot of money into. It’s a service that will include constant access to premium mobile titles. As confirmed by Google to Android Police, Google is actively testing a similar service called Play Pass that will, presumably, come to all similar compatible Android devices.
Not a lot of details are known at this point outside that testing is ongoing and they are thinking of a $4.99 monthly fee and will include “a curated catalog spanning puzzle games to premium music apps and everything in between. From action hits to puzzles and fitness trackers, with Google Play Pass you unlock access to hundreds of premium apps and games without ads, download fees or in-app purchases.” Which means it will expand beyond gaming and could be a more all-encompassing service. Google has been making a big push into gaming, and this seems pretty in-line with that and the continued rivalry between them and Apple. We’ll keep you updated.