Android-powered television gaming console GamePop will be released in a smaller form factor free for subscribers, per an announcement on Friday.
GamePop allows users to pay a subscription of $6.99 a month to access over 500 mobile games on their TVs for free each month. The original GamePop console, announced in May, is free until Sunday for those who sign up with the subscription service. The console normally runs for $129, and gamers can keep the console if they pay $6.99 for each of 12 months.
While the GamePop promotion expires on Sunday, the GamePop Mini remains free with subscription. The GamePop Mini decreases the console's form factor to the size of the pack of gum, according to a spokesperson from BlueStacks, the creator of GamePop.
"The biggest value of the GamePop service is its content –- not the box," said BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma. "Hardware costs have come down so fast that we’re able to undercut the rest of the market."
Sharma added that the company has attracted many early adopters throughout the month that the console has been offered for free. In turn, this will draw in developers.
Currently, large developers like Halfbrick, the makers of Fruit Ninja; Glu, the makers of Blood Brothers; and kids' app developer IntelliJoy have games on the console. In addition to running games on Android's Jelly Bean OS, GamePop can also easily run supported iOS-exclusive games through its proprietary technology called "Looking Glass." The creator of the popular franchise Fieldrunners, Subatomic Studios, was one of the first iOS developer partners to use Looking Glass.
Preorders for the GamePop Mini, which BlueStacks' website said is smaller, less powerful, but still plays all the same games, begin July 1.