Google Play Store officially allows NFT games, but not gambling ones

The Google Play store present allows video crippled publishers to merchantability nonfungible token (NFT) games successful its store, according to a July 12 blog station from the store’s radical merchandise manager, Joseph Mills. In the post, Mills states that Google Play is “pleased to stock that we’re updating our argumentation to unfastened caller ways to transact blockchain-based integer contented wrong apps and games connected Google Play,” including “boosting idiosyncratic loyalty done unsocial NFT rewards.”

1) A caller blockchain-based contented argumentation that states that devs indispensable implicit a declaration for apps that alteration users to transact blockchain-based integer content. Additional requirements use for NFT gamification. pic.twitter.com/kGhMPaWCi0

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) July 12, 2023

Google Play banned crypto mining apps from its store successful 2018 and removed the Bitcoin Blast video crippled for “deceptive practices” successful 2020. Apple’s App Store stated successful October that NFTs purchased extracurricular of the app store cannot connection immoderate peculiar benefits to users successful a game, oregon other the crippled volition beryllium banned. In addition, NFTs sold done Apple's App Store mentation of a crippled indispensable wage a 30% interest to Apple.

These actions and statements caused galore manufacture experts to judge that mobile NFT games were nether attack. However, the caller argumentation from Google Play makes wide that these games are invited connected Android devices, arsenic agelong arsenic they travel a fewer rules.

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According to the post, developers indispensable intelligibly authorities if a crippled allows users to gain oregon bargain NFTs oregon cryptocurrencies. In addition, crippled developers are not allowed to “glamorize immoderate imaginable earning from playing oregon trading activities,” nor tin they merchantability loot boxes oregon different let players to gamble.

As agelong arsenic they abide by these rules, games tin connection tokenized assets arsenic portion of the gaming experience, including by “reimagining accepted games with user-owned content,” the station said. Google Play indicated that it acceptable these guidelines successful practice with Web3 gaming leaders and volition “continue to prosecute with developers to recognize their challenges and opportunities.”

Web3 games have besides been banned by the world’s largest PC crippled distributor, Steam. However, Steam’s competitor, Epic Games, launched NFT paper crippled Gods Unchained successful its store connected June 22.