On the 8th, domestic small and medium-sized mobile game companies urged the government and the National Assembly to respond, stating that they are suffering from excessive in-app purchase fees charged by Google and Apple.
The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) held a press conference at the CCEJ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the same day to expose cases of damage related to in-app purchases by domestic game companies involving Google and Apple.
In-app purchases refer to a structure where users must use Google and Apple's proprietary payment systems to purchase goods or services within the app. Google and Apple take up to 30% as a commission on payment amounts. With the introduction of the law banning mandatory in-app purchases in 2021, Google, Apple, and others have allowed third-party payments through external payment service providers.
Game companies pointed out that while they can use a third-party payment system instead of in-app payments, they still have to pay a 26% intermediary fee to Google and Apple, which is not much different from the 30% in-app payment fee. Furthermore, when considering the payment gateway (PG) fees for third-party payments, the amount increases, rendering the ban on in-app payments ineffective.
CCEJ stated that 'from a cost perspective, the third-party payment fees are more expensive than in-app purchase fees, effectively limiting third-party payments and forcing in-app payments.' They added that in addition to the intermediary fees collected by Google and Apple for third-party payments, game companies also bear separate fees for domestic payment gateways (PG) and additional advertising and marketing expenses.
Game companies argued that Google and Apple's high commission policies have a negative impact on their performance. A mid-sized game publishing company that participated in the press conference revealed that from 2017 to 2024, the ratio of expenses including in-app purchase fees and app advertising and marketing costs relative to their sales from the Google and Apple app markets approached an average of 55.5%. During the same period, the average operating profit margin was -16.1%, indicating a loss.
Bang Hyo-chang, a policy committee member of CCEJ, said, 'The domestic game industry ecosystem is facing a collapse crisis due to excessive fees.'
CCEJ claimed that 'like in the United States, the commission rates related to in-app purchases should be uniformly reduced to a range of 4% to 6% and acts of interference, discrimination, and retaliation against third-party payments should be designated as prohibited by law.'