South Korea's Game Management Committee (GMC) has asked mobile app marketplaces like Apple's App Store and Google Play to remove play-to-earn games.
The South Korean government has moved to block all play-to-earn games from the country, and have asked major retailers to remove such games from their stores. These games have been criticized due to their rising popularity within the cryptocurrency industry. This is another massive move by a powerful world government that has decided to take a stand against what some deem to be exploitative gaming practices.
P2E games have been at the center of controversy because of how they operate. The games are marketed as an opportunity for players to monetize their play time because a player can buy and sell in-game tokens. More commonly known as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, players can earn these in-game rewards and then trade the tokens, ostensibly to try and earn a profit. However, P2E games usually require players to buy these NFTs first before they become eligible to earn additional tokens.
Because Apple and Google must allow third-party payment systems in their app stores, the GMC has left the execution of these orders to the two major companies. This is not the first time that the marketplaces have been entangled in legal battles. Earlier this year, the lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games ended with the court ruling that Epic Games had to pay Apple money owed when Epic Games attempted to bypass the app store.
Although this ruling by the South Korean GMC is not directly about Google and Apple's ability to regulate their own marketplaces, its decision does implicate that freedom. It is unclear whether the companies will comply or whether the P2E developers will attempt to challenge this ruling. For now, it appears that P2E games will no longer be accessible in South Korea. .
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