Google Testing Its Monthly Gaming Subscription Service

The screenshot shows game titles like "Monument Valley", "Knights of the Old Republic", "Threes", "Limbo", "Stardew Valley" available as part of the service.

(File Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP)

San Francisco: In a bid to compete with Apple's upcoming library of mobile games, Apple Arcade, Google has started testing its own monthly gaming subscription called Play Pass. Google's Play Pass subscription service is expected to offer "hundreds of premium apps and games" with no ads or in-app purchases for a flat monthly fee", The Verge reported on Thursday. According to the leaked screenshots that tech website Android Police received from a reader, Google's Play Pass would require users to pay a monthly $4.99 fee for unlimited access to a catalog of premium apps and games. The screenshot shows game titles like "Monument Valley", "Knights of the Old Republic", "Threes", "Limbo", "Stardew Valley" available as part of the service. So far, the details that have come into light about Google's gaming subscription seem to be quite similar to the upcoming Apple Arcade subscription, which was announced earlier in March this year. However, while Apple Arcade is only focused on games, Google Play Pass seems to offer access to an existing catalogue of games and apps that are already on the Google Play Store, the report said. As of now, Google has not officially announced or addressed reports concerning its monthly gaming subscription plan for Android users. Earlier in April, it was reported that Apple has invested over $500 million to build its stable of Arcade gaming service. Apple Arcade is slated for launch sometime in the second half of 2019.