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Google Play Pass Expands to More Countries

July 18th, 2020

Google Play Pass Expands to More Countries
Anh Nguyen

by Anh Nguyen

COO & Co-Founder at Gummicube, Inc

Google Play Pass, the subscription service that lets Google Play users access a wide array of paid app content, is expanding. Google will be making the Play Pass service available in nine new territories, in addition to adding additional content and lowering the price. This change opens up new opportunities for app developers whose apps are available through Play Pass or who want to offer their apps through it.

Google Play Pass

Google Play Pass, launched in September 2019, is a premium subscription service for Google Play. Subscribers can access premium apps and games without ads, download fees or in-app purchases for $4.99 a month.

While Apple Arcade gives users access to a library of exclusive games, Play Pass apps are available for regular purchase for non-subscribers. By subscribing, users can access content in games and apps without needing to pay any additional costs. This will give them full usage of the app without microtransactions or any other costs outside of Play Pass itself.

New Apps

The recent expansion of Google Play Pass adds 150 new titles. This includes a wide range of apps and mobile games, including well-known franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog and child-friendly apps like Sesame Workshop.

With these new additions, Google Play Pass now offers access to over 500 apps and mobile games.

Pricing Changes

While Google Play is adding more content to Play Pass, it is also adding a new subscription offering. Play Pass began at $1.99 a month as a promotional price for the first year, before increasing to $4.99 per month.

Users now have the option to pay for an annual subscription of $29.99. While they will have to pay for the full year in advance, the overall pricing breaks down to about $2.50 a month. Existing users can change their subscription from monthly to annual from the Play Pass tab in the Play Store app.

New Territories

At its launch, Google Play Pass was available in the US only. Now it’s going international, with new territories gaining access to Play Pass.

Starting this week, Play Pass will be available internationally in:

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • New Zealand
  • Spain
  • The United Kingdom

What This Means

The expansion of Google Play Pass to new territories presents new opportunities for app developers. A developer may have an app available through Play Pass and wants to expand, or may want to take advantage of Play Pass with an app already available overseas. They now have the opportunity to do just that.

App developers can reach new users by offering their apps through Play Pass. Users who are concerned about the cost of starting, subscriptions or microtransactions may be more likely to convert if they can access the app as part of their Play Pass subscription.

If developers want their Play Pass apps to reach users overseas, they’ll need to localize. This will require researching keywords, creative trends and user demands in the new territories so developers can optimize accordingly.

Even if an app expands to another English-speaking territory, regional terminology and tastes will need to be accounted for. Users in one country may search for very different keywords than users another, even if it’s for the same app and language.

Localizing will help users discover your app overseas as well as help improve conversions. Targeting terms searched in the territories will help it appear in searches, while using descriptions and creative sets localized for the region will make the app connect with users better. With the expansion of Play Pass, app developers will have a new opportunity to reach users overseas, but they must still optimize and localize if they want to get discovered.

App developers interested in making their apps available through Google Play Pass can submit theirs through Google’s form.

Want to learn more about App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.

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