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- The South Korea Government wants Google and Apple Play Store to block existing and new P2E games since it believes to get listed on their respective app stores, an age rating should not be required.
- In an official letter, Korea’s Game Management Committee in the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said their request is quite reasonable since the money earned from playing P2E games can be considered prizes.
- To resist the proliferation of what it observes as speculative money-making schemes, the GMC has made it impossible for play-to earn game developers to list their apps on the popular mobile app stores. The government has also gone straight to the app marketplace in a new development.
Thanks to SkyMavis’ massive hit, Axie Infinity, P2E games have gained popularity in the cryptocurrency industry.
Blockchain companies such as Animoca Brands and OpenSea have also grown popular. Recently, OpenSea was able to raise US$65 million in new funding for acquisitions and investments.
The South Korean Government requests Apple and Google to remove the existing play-to-earn (P2E) games and also asks to block the launch of new ones.
Generally, to play the game, game pieces are needed to be purchased first as non-fungible tokens and also to receive in-game rewards.
Nonetheless, the gaming prizes are banned over a few dollars in South Korea.
Yesterday, The (GMC) Game Management Committee in the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism requested significant mobile app marketplaces to block any games that demand in-app purchases before playing the game.
The GMC has also made it impossible for play-to-earn or P2E game developers to list their apps on the famous mobile app stores for combating the proliferation of what it views as speculative money-making schemes.
In a new development, by going straight to the app marketplace, the government has mitigated the growth of P2E games. Since April, game developers in South Korea have already fought court battles to keep their P2E games up for sale in domestic app stores.
The primary issue was that some game apps could not obtain an age rating needed for listing on app stores.
On 28 December, an official letter from the GMC stated that the commission is following the Supreme Court precedent to block P2E games from being listed and getting age ratings.
“It is reasonable to keep P2E games from getting age ratings under the current law because cash rewards in games can be considered prizes.”
At a time, prices earned from playing games in South Korea could not go beyond US$8.5 or 10,000 KRW.
Due to lack of rating, The Fivestars for Klaytn P2E game and NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace were initially blocked in local app stores. An ultimate decision on the legal standing of the game may set a precedent for other P2E games, such as Infinite Breakthrough Three Kingdoms Reverse.
In an interview, Head of Global Adoption at Klaytn Foundation, David Shin, told why he believes regulators are taking a strict stance against P2E games.
“Play-to-earn games and crypto, in general, are viewed with apprehension due to the froth in the market that’s fueled by speculative activity. But once that froth subsides, authorities all over the world may be more amenable to regulating Web 3.0 as a permanent feature of the digital economy.”
There were negative implications due to the GMC’s stance on all P2E gaming apps, including the collection of apps related to the two popular games to date: Axie Infinity and Splinterlands, according to DappRadar.