Small question for you: how much can you get out of the internet for just $5? A few weeks of basic Netflix. Two weeks of Spotify Premium. Not much else. Apple, however, has been trying hard to make $5 a month an appealing price point for its extended TV and gaming offerings. Google has been working on a response for its Android constituents the past several months. Now, as Play Pass finally comes to life, we're wondering how much of a value you're going to get.
Google Play Pass offers access to over 350 apps and games. New ones are being added every month and none of them have in-app purchases, ads, or extra fees. You can see apps like Accuweather, Lichtspeer, Mini Metro, Monument Valley, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Stardew Valley, and others with the new Play Pass tab of the Play Store. You'll also find titles with the Play Pass ticket icon pop up in searches and other sections.
Up to six family members total (you and five others) can individually access a single Play Pass membership — no one is sharing apps as long as users download apps with their own account.
Play Pass is rolling out in the U.S. this week and to other countries later. Users can pull the hamburger menu from the left on the Play Store and see if they can access a 10-day free trial of Play Pass. Through October 10, users can sign up and get their first year for just $1.99 a month. Otherwise, you'll pay $4.99 a month.
For app makers, Play Pass participation is currently invite-only, though they can nominate their app to be included via a form here. Google has said that it will give full rates based on measured usage to publishers even during the discounted introductory period. This will insure more people will get through the door and developers a paycheck.
Apple Arcade, which operates on a similar premise of fee-free access to over 100 games, is also $4.99 per month, and features a lot of the same, mass-appeal games that Play Pass does since many publishers are on both platforms. But with portfolios so large and only so much money to be made, we'll have to watch which apps people are flocking towards and how many pennies on the dollar those developers are getting with these new all-you-can-eat programs.