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Google announced its new mobile gaming subscription service today, Google Play Pass, which will offer over 350 different apps and games from launch.
It is a direct competitor to Apple Arcade, the new game subscription service from Apple Inc that launched last week. Apple Arcade has just over 100 compatible games to play on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, and will be added to on a monthly schedule, like Google Play Pass. They also share a family sharing feature with up to six users able to access one account. And, the two services are identically priced; both are available for $4.99 a month, but Google Play Pass has offered a discounted price of $1.99 per month for the first year.
Popular games such as Reigns: Game of Thrones, Mini Metro, Terraria, and Lumino City are included in Google Play Pass, and all of its titles will come with no microtransactions and no ads. The subscription service will be accessible from within the Google Play Store as an extra tab in the menu. Additionally, Play Pass is an invitation-only program for developers, so if a studio would like to add or release their game onto the service, they will need to contact Google in the first instance.
But, developers are expressing concerns over the royalty model that Google Play Pass has adopted. The guide to Play Pass explains how developers would generate revenue through the subscription service: ‘Developers earn a royalty that incorporates time subscribers spend in their app and captures how users value all types of content (from weather apps to epic endless runners).’ Although the company says it will be ‘continuously refining the model to make sure it fairly rewards titles that bring the highest user value’, Google Play Pass seems to prioritise games with replayability over singular or shorter game experiences.
Speaking to IGN, Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail said, ‘This is honestly a terrifying continuation of the model that has shaped games into mostly roguelites and multiplayer games. If engagement becomes money, then grinding, addictive loops, and infinite gameplay becomes the best way to earn money.’
Mike Rose, game industry analyst and publisher from No More Robots, echoed this sentiment. ‘I knew this was going to happen because even back then, I’d already been approached by multiple platforms all saying they would pay per how many hours your game was played, versus every other game on their platform,’ he said.
‘Give it another couple of years, and we’re going to be drowning in these services and it’s going to force developers to build games with “how do I make money?” in mind. Short narrative games will be forced out, we’ll be drowned in a sea of Fortnites and pachinko machines,’ Rose explained. ‘I know I must bore a whole lot of people with this stuff but god, we’re just so on the cusp of a crash, and I feel like barely anyone realises it.’
Google Play Pass is currently only available in the U.S., but will be released multinationally in the future. Watch the Google Play Pass announcement below.
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