Krafton, the South Korean developer behind the smash-hit battle-royale franchise PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds), is constructing a proprietary payment network designed to route transactions around Google Play and Apple's App Store. The move is more than a corporate cost-cutting exercise. It represents the first direct challenge by a major Korean games company to the fee structures that global technology platforms have long treated as untouchable.
The 30% Wall
Google and Apple typically charge app developers a 30% commission on in-app purchases. Smaller studios that meet certain criteria qualify for a reduced rate of 15%, but for a company of Krafton's scale the full levy applies. Given that PUBG Mobile alone generates hundreds of billions of won in annual revenue, the bill is anything but trivial.
Industry estimates put Krafton's annual outlay on app-store commissions somewhere between tens of billions and over 100 billion won (roughly $75m). If its own payment network takes hold, the company stands to claw back most of that sum.
The Legal Opening: Korea's Anti-Google-Gapjil Law
Krafton's decision rests on firm legal ground at home. In 2021, South Korea became the first country in the world to ban app-store operators from compelling developers to use their proprietary in-app payment systems, through an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act colloquially dubbed the "Anti-Google Gapjil Law" (gapjil being a Korean term for the abuse of a dominant position).
In practice, both Google and Apple responded by permitting alternative payment methods while keeping their fees at 26–27%—close enough to the original 30% to blunt the law's impact. Korea's Korea Communications Commission issued corrective orders and fines, but the law's effectiveness remained contested. Krafton's initiative could become the first high-profile test of whether the legislation has any real bite.
The Epic Precedent—and Why Krafton Is Playing It Differently
The most instructive precedent is Epic Games' confrontation with the platforms in 2020, when the maker of Fortnite covertly introduced its own payment system and was promptly ejected from both app stores. Years of litigation followed. In 2023, a US court largely rejected Epic's claims against Apple but found Google guilty of violating antitrust law.
Krafton's strategy is notably more cautious. Where Epic chose a frontal assault, Krafton is attempting to work within a legal framework that is already tilted in its favour. The plan appears to be to validate the model in the Korean market first—where regulation is most permissive—and then consider gradual expansion elsewhere.
The UX and Security Gamble
The rewards are not guaranteed. Payment systems that bypass an established app store typically require users to navigate additional authentication steps, and in the games industry friction kills conversion. Every extra click between a player and a purchase erodes revenue. Some industry specialists warn that even a 10–20% drop in payment conversion rates could wipe out a substantial portion of the commission savings.
Security is an equally serious concern. Apple and Google have spent years and vast sums building payment infrastructure trusted by hundreds of millions of users. Replicating that level of reliability and fraud prevention independently will demand considerable investment and time.
Will Nexon and Netmarble Follow?
Krafton's move could set off a chain reaction among Korea's other large games groups—Nexon, Netmarble, and NCsoft among them—all of which have absorbed the platform levy for years. A demonstrably successful Krafton model would give rivals a powerful incentive to follow suit.
For smaller studios, however, the arithmetic is very different. Building and maintaining a proprietary payment network requires significant upfront capital and operational expertise that most mid-sized developers cannot easily muster. The strategy is likely to remain the preserve of companies above a certain revenue threshold—which, paradoxically, could widen the gap between the industry's giants and its smaller players.
How Google and Apple Might Respond
Neither platform can be expected to accept lost revenue without a fight. Three broad responses are available to them. First, quiet algorithmic disadvantage: complying with Korean law in letter while demoting apps that use rival payment systems in search rankings and recommendation feeds. Second, selective fee reductions: lowering their own alternative-billing rates just enough to undercut the economic case for going it alone. Third, legal and lobbying pressure: challenging the regulatory framework itself.
As the Epic case illustrated, a platform's power to control distribution is a game developer's most acute vulnerability. How Krafton manages that structural weakness will likely determine whether the experiment succeeds.
A Global Tailwind
Krafton is not fighting against the current of history. The European Union's Digital Markets Act now prohibits app stores from mandating exclusive payment systems and requires Apple to permit sideloading—the installation of apps from outside its store. Legislative momentum in the United States points in a similar direction. Japan's Fair Trade Commission has already ordered Google to cease forcing developers to use its in-app billing system.
Krafton's wager is, in this sense, the Korean edition of a global experiment in dismantling platform monopolies. Because South Korea has the world's most advanced regulatory infrastructure in this area, the outcome will be watched closely by game developers everywhere.
2026: The Year That Will Decide It
If Krafton can run its payment network smoothly, hold on to users, and deliver measurable savings, the mobile-games industry's revenue model could be permanently altered. If the system stumbles—through technical failures, retaliatory platform action, or user frustration—the broader movement to escape the 30% levy will lose momentum for years.
What is already beyond dispute is that the 30% commission, long treated as an immutable fact of digital commerce, is now openly contested. Krafton has made the first crack. Whether it widens into a fracture will be one of the defining business stories of the next two years.