Blockchain-based games are becoming a multi-billion dollar industry globally and gaining new users every day. However, none of these users will be from South Korea. The Asian country's gaming regulator has urged Apple and Google to remove these play-to-earn games from their app stores, as they violate the country's gaming regulations.
People don't have to make money!
South Korea is a large cryptocurrency market, one of the largest in the world. Blockchain technology has also found a high level of adoption in the country. However, play-to-earn games are where the Game Management Committee (GMC) is drawing the line.
The GMC reached out to Google and Apple, whose Play Store and App Store are the two dominant app stores in the world, and asked them to eliminate these games, Naver reports. It also reached out to small app distributors with similar instructions.
The regulator, however, has tried to make it clear that he is not against blockchain gaming. Rather, it is the fact that these games allow users to earn cryptocurrencies, which they can then trade for fiat. This is tantamount to winning prizes while playing and South Korea is very strict about it. The country's gambling laws limit the maximum amount that can be earned to 10.000 Korean won ($ 8,42) under its Game Industry Promotion Act.
"Speculative games to make money"
The South Korean watchdog revealed that he has been observing the gaming market and has noticed an increase in the popularity of the blockchain game. Aside from regular global platforms like Axie Infinity, local companies are also diving deeper into the industry.
In 2021, six of the country's top ten best-performing titles were tied to blockchain gaming, including WeMade, the company behind the hugely popular blockchain game MIR4.
Describing them as "speculative games to make money," the regulator said:
"It is reasonable to prevent P2E games from obtaining age ratings under the current law, because cash rewards in games can be considered prizes."
It's not easy to explain why South Korea is so particular about game restrictions without remembering the Sea Story that happened 15 years ago. Sea Story was a slot machine-like arcade video game that achieved popularity in the mid-2000s in Korea. Instead of cash, it rewarded users with gift cards that weren't outlawed at the time.
However, very quickly, cash centers sprang up near the Sea Story arcades where gift certificates were exchanged for cash. Local gangs were involved and it ended in the deaths of dozens of people, many of them by suicide.
This is why the GMC is against play-to-earn games. However, the GMC chief made it clear that he is not against blockchain games, only rewards.
“It is a misconception that the commission plays block new technologies such as blockchain and NFT. The act of promotion of the gaming industry, unlike other laws that promote culture, is established to prevent speculation ”.
