Korean game firms in dilemma over Google Play
Google Play Store showing a list of games
By Jun Ji-hye
Game companies here have been in a dilemma over selling their games through Google Play Store as they have to pay 30 percent of in-app purchases as a commission.
Even though Google Play Store is the most effective platform for marketing mobile games to Android smartphone users, many game firm officials have said the 30 percent fee is too high. Nonetheless, many have no other choice but to offer their games through the store because it is the easiest way to reach tens of millions of users.
Google's controversial 30 percent fee policy has caught public attention again after the U.S.-based Epic Games recently decided to bypass the app store and offer its online shooting game “Fortnite” for Android directly from Epic Games' own website.
Epic Games allows users to download the game on Samsung Galaxy S7 phones and above, the firm announced at the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launch, Thursday. “Fortnite” was exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices until Sunday, and availability for all Android devices is coming later this month, the firm said.
The decision is to avoid paying the 30 percent commission to Google, according to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney.
“The 30 percent store tax is a high cost in a world where game developers' 70 percent must cover all the costs of developing, operating and supporting their games,” Sweeney said, according to The Verge. “There's a rationale for this on console where there's enormous investment in hardware, often sold below cost and marketing campaigns in broad partnership with publishers.”
He added the 30 percent is disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform, such as payment processing, downloading bandwidth and customer service.
Epic Games Korea also announced the launch of “Fortnite” for Android and PlayStation4 in Korea, Friday.
“We will communicate gamers directly by distributing our game directly,” said Lee Won-se in charge of the firm's business here during a news conference held in Seoul.
Officials from Korean game firms said that they agree with the U.S. firm's claims and that its decision to bypass Google impressed them.
They noted, however, that it is not easy for them to make such a bold decision due to the convenience of Google Play in distributing their games and securing users.
“I think Epic Games could make such a decision as it is confident in securing users through its website, given that Fortnite has already secured more than 100 million users around the world through its services on PCs, Macs and console devices,” an official from a Korean game firm said. “But for us, it is not easy to bypass Google's app store as a number of users gather there.”
Released in July last year, “Fortnite” has become popular around the world.
Another game company official said her company welcomed Epic Games' decision but still needs to wait and see what results the U.S. company will make after ditching Google Play.
“If Epic Games has good results from its decision, I think it is certainly worth a try for other companies whose games are already popular on PCs and other devices,” she said. “But it will still be difficult for companies, which want to release new games, to ignore Google Play.”