South Korea’s government has taken steps to prevent the introduction of new pay-to-play (P2P) games and has requested that current ones be deleted from Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
In the bitcoin business, peer-to-peer gaming has grown in popularity. To play the game and get in-game rewards, gamers often must first purchase game pieces as non-fungible tokens. However, in South Korea, gaming rewards above a few dollars are prohibited.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism’s Game Management Committee (GMC) demanded Wednesday that major mobile app markets restrict any games that require in-app purchases to play.
Blocking P2E gaming
To prevent what it views as the rise of speculative money-making schemes, the GMC has made it virtually impossible for makers of P2E games to have their work listed on the most popular mobile app shops.
While the government’s attempt to curb the rise of P2E games by directing them to app markets is a new development, South Korean game producers have been fighting court fights since April to keep their P2E games available in domestic app stores.
The primary issue was that some game apps were unable to gain the required age rating for inclusion in-app shops.
Following the high court’s mandate
According to a GMC representative, the commission is just following Supreme Court precedent in prohibiting P2E games from receiving age ratings and being placed on the market.
In a statement issued on December 28, the official said: “Under the existing rules, it is reasonable to keep P2E games from receiving age ratings because monetary payments in games can be considered prizes.”
In South Korea, gaming prizes are limited to 10,000 KRW ($8.42) at a time.
The Fivestars for Klaytn P2E game and nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace were first barred in domestic app stores because of a lack of a rating, but the game’s developers obtained an injunction in June, and the game was re-listed.
Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube