App Store now highlighting "Pay once & play" games with no in-app purchases

February 13, 2015

The iPad and iPhone App Store now has a section featuring games that you pay for upfront and then play without ever paying again. It's called "Play once & play," and it's a freemium hater's dream: dozens of excellent games from big studios and independent developers, all free of in-app purchases. You pay anywhere from $0.99 for Almightree: The Last Dreamer or Epic Eric to to $19.99 for Dragon Quest VIII, and and everything in between including Minecraft and the truly-bizarre Goat Simulator.

It's a welcome addition to the App Store for many groups. Sure, there are those that simply despise nickel-and-dime gaming — the next edition of Need for Speed is stooping so far as to demand you pay up not just to upgrade your car faster or unlock exclusive rides earlier, but will even urge you to fork over cash to "refill" your gas tank so you can race again sooner.

But there's another group that would even more love to be able to buy an app once and never have to worry about future charges: parents. It seems like at least once a month another story comes across the wires about a parent facing a bill in the thousands of dollars because their unknowing kid racked up in-app purchase after in-app purchase. Sure, Apple gave parents a lot more in the way of options and remote management of in-app purchases with their kids' apps, but there's something to be said for a buy-once-and-forget game.

To check out the worthy games that Apple's highlighting, fire up the App Store and look for it in the top header section.