South Korean government asks Apple and Google to remove game play while earning games

The South Korean government has moved to block the release of new earn-as-you-play (P2E) games and has demanded that existing P2E games be removed from Google Play and Apple's App Store.

P2E gaming has become popular in the cryptocurrency industry. In order to play the game and receive in-game rewards, players typically must first purchase game items that are non-fungible tokens. However, game winnings over a few dollars are prohibited in Korea.

Yesterday, the Game Management Committee (GMC) of Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism asked major mobile app marketplaces to ban any games that require in-app purchases before playing.

In an effort to combat the proliferation of what it sees as a speculative money-making scheme, South Korea's GMC has made it nearly impossible for P2E game developers to feature in the most popular mobile app stores.

While the government's attempt to curb the growth of P2E games by directly entering the app market is a new development, game developers in South Korea have been facing a court battle since April to keep their P2E games selling on domestic app stores. The main problem is that some game apps don't get the age rating they need to be listed on the app store.

An official from South Korea's GMC said the committee was simply following the Supreme Court's precedent to ban P2E games from age ratings and listings. In a statement on Dec. 28, the official said:

"Under current law, it is reasonable to prohibit P2E games from being age-rated because in-game cash prizes can be considered bonuses."
In South Korea, you cannot earn more than 10,000 won (about $8.42) per game.

The P2E game and NFT marketplace Five Stars for Klaytn was initially banned from the South Korean app store for lack of ratings, but the team behind the game won the ban in June and the game was released. A final decision on the game's legal status is expected to set a legal precedent for other P2E games, such as Infinite Breakthrough Three Kingdoms Reverse.

South Korea's GMC's stance negatively affects all P2E gaming apps, including app suites related to two of the most popular games at the moment: Axie Infinity and Splinterlands.