No doubt it will also change the outlook for many traditional mobile game developers, but the recent Apple App Store ruling, stemming from the Epic Games v. Apple case, is particular significant for web3 game devs.
After the ruling, developers are able to link to external payment systems and marketplaces freely, bypassing Apple’s 30% commission fees.
Indeed, some web3 game developers have already jumped onboard. Animoca Brands’ mobile tower defense game Crazy Defense Heroes has rolled out payment options including the use of TOWER tokens to buy exclusive IAPs via an app link-out to its webstore.
“This will open significant pathways to web3 adoption very soon!” Animoca Brands co-founder and chairman Yat Siu said in response to the release.
Other prominent people in web3 gaming have similarly pointed to the new opportunities the Apple ruling will unlock.
Limit Break CEO Gabe Leydon said on X, “The ability to link directly from an app to your web store is a much bigger deal than simply having a web store. Web3 gaming is now wide open on mobile.”
“This will completely revitalize mobile gaming,” added Leydon, who ventured into web3 gaming in 2022 with his startup Limit Break. Before announcing its creator protocols, Limit Break was mainly known for its DigiDaigaku NFT collection and associated mobile game.
Sky Mavis co-founder Jeff Zirlin called the ruling “a big moment for web3 gaming.”
Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson also posted on X, saying “People don’t realise just how big last week’s Epic Games court decision will be: web3 games that were priced out of the appstore by a 30% fee now have access to a marketplace of 650 million weekly active users, which generates developers $1.1 trillion a year”.
“We’ve still got a long way to go before web3 gaming is truly mass-market but a huge source of friction just got removed.”
Comments are closed.