In-app Billing has been available on Google Play for roughly a year, giving developers alternate ways to finance their apps. Today, 23 of the 24 top-grossing apps in Google Play use In-app Billing, and the total revenue generated from in-app purchases exceeds revenue from traditional app purchases.

“We’re now taking In-app Billing further by adding another important business model — subscriptions,” said Ibrahim Elbouchikhi, Product Manager on the Google Play team. “Starting today, developers can use In-app Billing to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from inside of their apps. All subscriptions are auto-renewing, for every app and game and every type of subscription product. Developers just set the price and billing interval and Google Play manages the purchase transactions for them, just as it does for other in-app products and app purchases.”

“For users, Google Play provides a familiar and convenient purchase experience, highlighting subscription details such as price and billing interval before continuing with purchases,” he added. “After the transaction, Google Play manages recurring billing and keeps users informed of new charges, sending them an email with each renewal. At any time, users can visit My Apps in the Play Store app to view their subscriptions and cancel any subscription as needed.

There will also be options for developers to monetize premium dynamic content such as journals and magazines and also sell access to bundled products, game levels, music and video content, value-added services, or any other digital content. They’re also integrating HTTP-based publisher API through which enterprise-scale backend servers can validate or cancel subscriptions, allowing developers to extend access from their Android apps to their web properties, based on subscriptions that are purchased on Google Play.

“In the coming days, several developers will be launching apps with Google Play subscriptions and we expect many more to follow,” noted Elbouchikhi. “Glu Mobile is launching updated versions of its top Android titles, including Frontline Commando, offering subscriptions through custom VIP currency packages. “We’re using Google Play subscriptions to offer consumers a compelling value and a single currency which they can use across Glu’s most popular titles” says Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu. “We’re excited to bring these capabilities to our Android users and we believe that Google Play subscriptions will fuel further growth in our business.”

“If you’re a developer, you can get started with subscriptions right away by reading the In-app Billing documentation and downloading the updated sample app. If you are already using in-app billing, you’ll find that adding support for subscriptions is straightforward and involves only minor changes to your code,” he added. “You can publish your updated apps and subscription products as soon as you are ready. We’ve already rolled out client support to most Android devices worldwide, so any user with Google Play 3.5 or higher installed can buy subscriptions starting today.”

Source: Android-developers.blogspot.com