Regulations on NFT and Cryptocurrency
Mining Activities in Games... Apps Blocked
Systems Vary by Game
Pre-Review Countermeasures Impossible
[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] As major domestic game companies rush to enter the P2E (Play to Earn) game market, Apple has classified the creation of in-game non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies as cryptocurrency mining activities and has started rejecting the registration of related games on the App Store. Google is also blocking cryptocurrency mining applications on the Play Store, making this a potential new issue for P2E games going forward.
According to the gaming industry on the 29th, Wemade removed NFT-related elements and the NFT item marketplace XDraco from the iOS version of Mir4 on the 19th in accordance with Apple App Store policies. This action follows Apple's App Store review guidelines. Apple prohibits cryptocurrency mining and only allows cryptocurrency exchanges approved by Apple, applying these rules to games as well.
Apple is reportedly defining cryptocurrencies obtained through P2E games as mining activities. A Wemade official stated, "We were caught off guard as restrictions were imposed belatedly through monitoring during normal service," adding, "We will first comply with the guidelines, observe the situation, and discuss future measures."
The problem is that it is difficult to uniformly apply these guidelines to currently operating P2E games. Each game has different processes for acquiring cryptocurrencies, and the exchange systems for converting them into other currencies also vary, making it impossible for game companies to prepare countermeasures before undergoing App Store reviews.
There is growing anxiety that games currently in normal service could be removed from the App Store. The industry is closely watching whether Apple's measures will also be implemented on Google Play, the other major market. Like Apple, Google prohibits cryptocurrency mining in its app market. Since many P2E games being prepared by domestic game companies are mobile games, if the same measures are taken on both major markets, service disruptions are inevitable.
An industry insider explained, "There are currently few cases, so we are closely monitoring which game services will be halted," adding, "Although cryptocurrency-related services can be used normally if mobile games are accessed via PC launchers, users inevitably find this inconvenient."
Amid this ongoing controversy, voices from the gaming industry in Korea are growing louder, calling for amendments to the game industry laws that currently classify P2E games as illegal. At the regular seminar of the Korea Game Law and Policy Association on the 28th, Professor Haesang Jeong of Dankook University said, "P2E games are expected to become a catalyst for rapid development by leading the platform economy environment of virtual worlds, including various forms of metaverse (expanded virtual worlds)," urging related legal reforms.
The Game Industry Promotion Act prohibits the exchange of tangible and intangible goods obtained through games, making it impossible to launch P2E games domestically. Professor Seungmin Lee of Sungkyunkwan University also emphasized the need to amend the game law. He said, "The current Special Financial Transactions Information Act (Act on Reporting and Using Certain Financial Transaction Information) excludes game virtual assets, but if the game industry law changes, the Special Financial Transactions Information Act is also likely to change, so it is appropriate to quickly amend the game law first."
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