According to a blog post by Joseph Mills, the group product manager at the Google Play store, video game publishers can now sell NFT games on the platform. In the post, Mills mentions that they are updating the policy to allow blockchain-based digital content transactions, which includes the use of NFTs. This update aims to enhance user loyalty by offering unique NFT rewards within apps and games on Google Play.
In 2018, Google Play implemented a ban on crypto mining apps and in 2020, they removed the Bitcoin Blast video game due to “deceptive practices”. Similarly, Apple’s App Store stated that NFTs purchased outside of their platform cannot offer any special benefits in games, and games sold through the App Store must pay a 30% fee to Apple.
These actions and statements led to concerns among industry experts that mobile NFT games were being targeted. However, the recent policy update from Google Play clarifies that NFT games are welcome on Android devices as long as they adhere to certain rules.
As per the post, developers must explicitly disclose if their game allows users to earn or purchase NFTs or cryptocurrencies. Moreover, developers are not allowed to promote potential earnings from playing or trading activities, nor can they sell loot boxes or include gambling elements.
Games that comply with these guidelines are permitted to offer tokenized assets as part of the gaming experience and can even reimagine traditional games with user-owned content. Google Play has developed these guidelines in collaboration with leaders in Web3 gaming and expresses a commitment to understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by developers.
It’s worth noting that Web3 games have also been banned by Steam, the largest PC game distributor. However, Epic Games, a competitor of Steam, recently launched the NFT card game Gods Unchained in their store on June 22nd.