Google has started rolling out support for Promo Codes in the Play Store. Developers will now have the ability to create promo codes for paid apps and in-app purchases.
Promo codes let you give content or features away to a limited number of users free of charge. Once you create a promo code, you can distribute it subject to the terms of service. The user enters the promo code in your app or in the Play Store app, and gets the item at no cost. You can use promo codes in many ways to creatively engage with users.
reads Play Store Developer dashboard.
Developers will now have the ability to offer a paid app or certain in-app purchases to users for free via promotional codes. Google has added a couple of limitations for this feature under which developers will be able to generate up to 500 free promo codes per quarter. These 500 free promo codes are for both paid as well as in-app purchases together. Google also says that if developers fail to use all 500 promo codes in a quarter, they will not be able to access them later and unused codes will not carry over to the next quarter. Developers can set expiration dates for promotions lasting up to one year and even pause them in between.
[Update] – Google has officially announced support for Promo Codes under which developers can generate and distribute promo codes to current and new users on Google Play.