As pointed out by MacStories, Apple has started promoting games that don’t have any In-App Purchases on the App Store’s front page, beginning with U.K. and most likely expanding to the U.S. and Canada later today as part of the App Store’s weekly refresh. The new section titled ‘Pay Once & Play’ features only those games that do not need users to pay for extra content through In-App Purchases.
“The section is organized in Recent Releases, Blockbuster Games, and App Store Originals. The games included vary in terms of popularity and developer: Apple is promoting indie hit Thomas Was Alone under Blockbuster Games alongside Minecraft, but they’re also showcasing award-winning Threes, Leo’s Fortune, and Blek”.
While it remains unclear whether the new section will become a permanent, regularly updated part of the App Store or is just a limited time highlight, it certainly is a good move by Apple as it reflects the company’s interest in promoting quality game experiences away from freemium trends. In the past, Apple has already received complaints over freemium games and how they were advertised as free downloads while hiding major features behind IAPs.
Last year in November, Apple made a significant change to the App Store as a response to these complaints, replacing the ‘FREE’ button to download apps with ‘GET’ labels.
You can check out the new “Great Games with No In-App Purchases” in the App Store.
