YouTube sends notice to content creators about upcoming ad-free subscription service

We’ve heard for quite some time now that YouTube wanted to explore an ad-free subscription service. The concept is simple: you pay money, you don’t get annoying ads at the beginning, end or sometimes middle of a video.

Google has been hesitant come out and confirm anything, but it looks like they’ve finally let the cat out of the bag. Several partnered YouTubers have reported receiving emails from the company informing them of a forthcoming subscription service that will allow their viewers to pay good coin to dodge those annoying ads that play when you watch a video.

The email was scarce on any details about the service such as cost, but Google did note that partners would be able to get in on the new revenue stream (which was the whole reason for them sending this notice — it will create significant changes to the company’s standing terms of service policies).

Google is already providing a similar option in the same ballpark called the YouTube Music Key. It’s a per month service that lets users access music videos ad-free, as well as cache them for offline viewing should an internet connection fail to be available. Extending a similar service for the entirety of the video content on YouTube would be a big deal for those who absolutely loathe having to view ads (even if most of them can be skipped after 5 seconds).

The timing of the announcement might indicate that Google is getting ready to pilot the service this year, though without any hard details your guess is just as good as ours. We imagine any formal announcements will be saved for Google IO so stay tuned!

[via Bloomberg]

The creators of Cut the Rope release King of Thieves for Android

If you’re a fan of addictive games you’re probably well acquainted with Cut the Rope from ZeptoLab. The game first arrived in 2010, and since then there have been many variations of the classic game. Today ZeptoLab has released a brand new game for Android called King of Thieves. If it’s half as good as Cut the Rope we’re in for a treat.

There are two genres mashed into King of Thieves: platformer and tower defense. The platformer aspect involves going on raids and trying to steal gems and gold from the tombs of other players. However, you also have a tomb, which is where the tower defense aspect comes into play. You have to build traps and defenses to protect the contents of your own tomb from other players.

The longer you play the more gear you will unlock to make the game easier. Of course, since this is a mobile game in 2015, you can make in-app purchases to speed things along. At first glance King of Thieves seems to have all the ingredients of a hit game. You can download it from the Play Store for free right now.

Namco and the creators of Crossy Road team up for new Pac-Man game based on level 256 glitch

In case you didn’t mark your calendar, Pac-Man officially turned 35 years old today. To help celebrate, Bandai Namco and Hipster Whale — creators of the smash hit game Crossy Road — have released a trailer for an upcoming game based around Pac-Man’s infamous level 256 glitch.

The level 256 glitch was actually bad code in the original game that caused it glitch up upon reaching level 256. You wont find the same level progression here, with Pac-Man 256 being an endless runner like PAC-MAN DASH!, but featuring a more classic top-down isometric view. Player must navigate around ghosts and munch on glowing fruit to stay alive while a huge ever-present glitch keeps the action moving forward. It’s actually a similar gameplay mechanic to the one we saw in Crossy Road, so it’s not too much of a surprise.

As is the trend these days, Pac-Man 256 will be a freemium title when it launches later this summer with in-app purchases. Exactly what those will be remains to be seen, although we have a feeling it will something like those found in Crossy Road. We’ll keep an eye out for more details as we approach Pac-Man 256’s launch.