The South Korean government has asked Apple Inc. and Google LLC to remove “Play to Earn” games from their respective stores and to block the release of new ones.
So-called “P2E” gaming involves players earning cryptocurrency rewards and nonfungible tokens of NFTs from playing the games. According to Play to Earn Online Magazine, the model gives gamers ownership over in-game assets and allows them to increase their value by actively playing the game. By participating in the in-game economy, players create value for other players and developers and are rewarded for doing so.
Although offering rewards to players is not a new concept, P2E has rapidly taken off this year, taking on with games such as Axie Infinity from Vietnam game developer Sky Mavis. Axie has been so successful for Sky Mavis that the company recently raised $153 million on a $3 billion valuation.
The issue in South Korea is that gaming prizes over 10,000 Korean won ($8.42) are banned in the country.
The request to block P2E games came from the South Korea Game Management Committee in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Naver News reported Dec. 27 that the request came as part of the government recently strengthening its monitoring of blockchain games.
The request isn’t an outright ban but a restriction of providing P2E games with ratings. In South Korea, all games receive a rating from the GMC, which indicates the age at which the game can be used. But if a game is released through an in-house grading service provider, the game company rates itself. Now, such games will no longer be able to be rated, making them illegal to distribute.
The commission itself cited a Supreme Court precedent in blocking P2E games, as it says that the rewards in games can be considered prizes.
This isn’t the first time Apple and Google have been targeted by South Korea this year. In August, the country passed a bill that required the two companies to ease restrictions on in-app purchases. More specifically, the bill forces Apple and Google to let developers process in-app purchases using payment systems other than their own.
Google announced in November that it was adding support for alternative in-app payment. Apple has yet to do so, claiming that it believes that it already complies with the law, which states that companies can’t charge “unreasonable fees.”
