Google has killed off the Google Play Edition program. The final GPe device has been removed from the Play Store, which was the HTC One M8 GPe, signaling the end of their experiment. The GPe program was meant to offer developers and regular folks a chance to own Nexus-like versions of their favorite devices, but apparently the program proved to be less productive than it needed to stay afloat.
The other reason for the failure of the programs is that high profile OEMs like Samsung and Motorola chose to skip making GPe versions of all of their biggest flagships in 2014. That disinterest was apparently enough to make Google rethink the program. It is unlikely we will see any GPe devices in the future.
To be clear, the HTC One M8 GPe is still on the Play Store, but it can only be found through a direct link, as no click-through links exist on the Play Store for it anymore. Furthermore, it says that the device is “no longer available for sale.” The web-url is set to expire, and after that it will be no more. Are you sad to see the Google Play Edition program go the way of the "Dodo bird"?
Source: Devices on Google Play
