Google Play Pass Adds More Countries And Games To Its List
Google Play Store is home to hundreds of apps and games, many of which you probably wouldn't have discovered on your own. Many of those you might not even be interested in trying because of the upfront price tag attached. As a promotion strategy as well added source of revenue for Google and developers, Google Play Pass offers these Android experiences for free in exchange for a monthly fee. That subscription service, clearly meant to rival Apple Arcade, has now expanded its reach both in the number of countries it is available in as well as the number of games it offers.
Like with any digital subscription and distribution service, Google Play Pass is limited to a few countries only. Whether due to market or legal considerations, it only expands little by little to a few countries. Today's update, however, brings the largest addition of 48 countries to that list which, unfortunately, only number 90 in total.
As for the new games, Google mentions a few notable highlights, like Evoland 2 which would normally cost $6.99 if purchased separately. The RPG series made a name for itself for its almost historical perspective of game development which takes players through the different stages and genres in gaming.
Aside from making paid games free, Google Play Pass also does away with in-app purchases and ads for games that are already free anyway. Those include, in this batch, Night of Full Moon, a card game based on the Little Red Riding Hood lore, as well as civilization builder The Battle of Polytopia. All in all, Google boasts that it has added more than 40 games to the collection since April 1, and that's no joke.
Curiously, Google didn't highlight or mention any new apps added to the list that are not games. Unlike Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass is supposed to encompass both games and "regular" Android apps, often for productivity but the latter category is comparatively few and barely gets any attention. Google has so far also remained silent on a recent incident where one of the apps it did add to Play Pass was apparently carrying malware.