The Republic of Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has fined Alphabet’s Google 42.1 billion won (about US$31.9 million) for unfairly competing in the mobile games market by restricting the publishing of mobile video games blocked on competitor One Store’s platform.
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KFTC said in a statement Tuesday that between June 2016 and April 2018, Google offered in-game advertising to publishers if their games were published exclusively on the Google Play app store. “which has hurt One Store’s revenue and value in the local app market as a platform.”
“By blocking the release of games on the One Store, the US corporation has hampered innovation, hurting consumers in the app stores and mobile gaming sector.” — quotes TASS decision of the KFTC. It is reported that as a result of Google’s actions, its share of the local market has increased from 80-85% to 90-95%, and the share of its competitor, One Store App Store — decreased from 15-20% to 5-10%.
KFTC written downthat this decision reflects the government’s efforts to ensure fair market conditions. Game makers affected by Google’s actions include Netmarble, Nexon and NCSOFT, among other smaller companies, according to the commission.
In 2021, the KFTC fined Google more than 200 billion won (more than $150 million) for blocking modified versions of the Android operating system.
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