The court for stopping P2E games... NFT is also interpreted as a 'gift'
The domestic game service of ' Play to One ( P2E )' , which makes money while enjoying games, was eventually put on hold by the court. As the Game Rating Management Committee ruled that the refusal to classify was appropriate, it is expected that the service of games that have received a temporary suspension will soon be terminated. It is analyzed that the domestic market release of major P2E works by domestic developers who have chosen to enter the global market has been virtually eliminated.
The 4th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Kim Jeong-joong) dismissed SkyPeople's lawsuit against the Game Rating and Administration Commission for canceling the disposition of refusal to classify. The cost of the lawsuit was also borne by the plaintiff, SkyPeople.
This lawsuit drew attention as the first court ruling to determine whether to allow P2E games in Korea. Kim & Chang Law Firm represented the plaintiff in the lawsuit against SkyPeople.
SkyPeople is based on the point that the non-fungible token ( NFT ) received through game play by users of the mobile role-playing game (RPG) 'Five Stars' can be traded on an external trading platform such as OpenSea, which is no different from the cash transaction of items in other games. asserted over and over again. This means that it does not directly promote speculation in game operation.
On the other hand, the Game Committee pointed out that the NFT in Five Stars is a prize similar to a score certificate prohibited by the Game Industry Promotion Act. As long as NFTs can be circulated and traded as coins and converted into cash, it is argued that it is legal to block their distribution because the contingency that exists in random character drawing or automatic hunting functions can combine to encourage speculative behavior.
“Five Stars is a game that was developed as part of a virtual asset project called ‘Mineral Coin,’” said lawyer Lee Cheol-woo, who served as the attorney for the game committee. I see,” he said.
Possibility that the part where NFTs functioned as part of the coin ecosystem beyond the contents of the game was regarded as 'an act that promotes speculative behavior through an operating method closely related to the implementation of game contents', which is prohibited by Article 28, Paragraph 2-2 of the Game Industry Act. analysis that this is high.
SkyPeople plans to discuss additional responses, including whether to appeal, after receiving the ruling. However, it is inevitable that the domestic service of Five Stars, which is currently distributed on Google Play and Apple App Store, will be terminated. Five Stars is scheduled to be released globally in the first half of the year, regardless of whether or not there is a domestic lawsuit.
An official from SkyPeople said, "Users' data sovereignty is a right that must be guaranteed in the era of Web 3.0, and it is regrettable that the starting point is significantly delayed compared to other countries due to this ruling." I will work hard for it,” he said.
