Google starts pre-registration for new applications in Play Store

Google has started allowing users to register for applications that are due to be released at some point in the future. Those who register will receive a notification as soon as the desired application is available. You do not have to pay immediately for a ‘pre-order’.

The new functionality does not appear to be widely deployed yet. For now, only the game Terminator Genisys: Revolution seems to use the pre-register button. Android Police discovered that the game’s Play Store page, which was developed by Glu, has a pre-subscribe button in place of the buy button. Whoever clicks on the button will receive a notification that a notification will be sent as soon as the application is available. Via the same button, a user can also unsubscribe from the notification. There is no need to pay immediately when pre-registering.

More developers will probably make use of the pre-registration option in due course. Google itself has not made any announcement about the new functionality. However, traces of pre-registration have already been found in the code of the Play Store app, so that the feature does not come as a surprise.