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Hey frens. It’s Monday, and we’re back. 

It doesn’t feel like summer is coming yet in the Pacific Northwest. Cold nights, brief bursts of sunshine in the day — unpredictable weather overall. 

Kinda like crypto.

— Kate Irwin

P.S. Let me know how you’re liking The Drop! Send me an email at [email protected].

What Epic’s App Store ruling means for crypto

Tech giants Epic Games and Apple have been duking it out in court for years now, and Apple was just handed a ruling that’s changed the US App Store’s rules.

A California judge found Apple to be engaging in anticompetitive practices. The ruling takes steps to stop “Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition.”

US apps are no longer barred from adding external links, buttons, or other ways to get users to leave the app to “browse NFT collections owned by others.”

Apple won’t stop US App Store apps from adding pathways to external pages, and apps can now encourage users to go to those pages.

The main reason this was a point of contention is because apps downloaded from Apple’s App Store are subject to Apple’s rules, which prioritized in-app purchases and restricted or made it difficult for developers to link to external marketplaces. 

In-app purchases got hit with a fee from Apple (up to 30%) on every purchase, which resulted in slimmer margins for developers and/or higher prices for consumers. Now, Apple’s not allowed to slap that “Apple tax” on app purchases made externally (but can still collect up to 30% on in-app purchases).

I previously saw some crypto games getting around Apple’s old rules with strategies like vaguely hinting to users via in-game messages that the “PC version” offers some items not available on the iOS version’s shop. Apps also didn’t link to said versions or tell players directly how to get NFTs to use in their games. 

But that’s not a great gaming experience, and it probably confused some players.

Because of the ruling, Apple approved a Spotify update that will let the streaming giant offer more pay transparency and external links for users. Epic said it’s finally bringing Fortnite back to the US iOS App Store this week, as well. EU gamers have been able to get it through Epic’s own games store since August, thanks to the EU’s Digital Markets Act. 

So, what does this latest ruling mean for crypto? 

Apps of all kinds — from games to trading apps, NFT marketplaces and wallets — can now openly link to external pages where users can make purchases without incurring Apple’s fees. It means indie crypto games can be more sustainable and more transparent to users without gray-area phrasing. It also means marketplaces like OpenSea can directly link to the web versions so users can buy NFTs.

Apps using iOS have always been able to offer in-app purchases, and some chose not to in large part because of the profit margins with those fees.

It’ll help smaller developers trying to break even, as well as more established firms looking to boost revenue and see long-term growth. 

This ruling could make mobile games an even bigger portion of the blockchain gaming sector. Last year, Game7 Research found mobile games were the most popular platform for crypto game developers, making up roughly 30% of that market.

Making users leave the app still isn’t ideal, but it’s better than what it was before.

The decision’s receiving positive feedback from executives in the crypto gaming space. Mythical Games COO Arron Goolsbey applauded Apple’s changes, “even if they were reluctant to open the door to a wider, more connected future.”

Sam Barberie, Sequence’s head of strategy and partnerships, said it’s “massive” for NFTs and blockchain games.

“Such high fees made it unviable for most Web3 games to target mainstream audiences on the US appstore [sic] but now the friction is gone,” Immutable cofounder Robbie Ferguson wrote on X. “We’ve still got a long way to go before Web3 gaming is truly mass-market but a huge source of friction just got removed.”

Sui gets stablecoin for gaming + its handheld

Crypto startup Playtron is launching a gaming-focused stablecoin with stablecoin firm Bridge and the M0 Foundation exclusively for the Sui L1 chain.

The stablecoin, called Game Dollar, will be part of Playtron’s GameOS. That’s the name of the operating system on the upcoming Sui0x1 handheld gaming device that fully supports both traditional and crypto games.

The stablecoin will be used for “purchases, subscriptions, and rewards.”

To me, this is a big deal because it takes crypto integrations on the handheld a step further. Going the stablecoin route, instead of a crypto token, is a good idea because players could quickly swap their game tokens into a less-volatile stablecoin to secure their wins when they want. 

My main concern is liquidity around yet another stablecoin, of course (stablecoins have depegged before). M0 says they’re planning to build substantial liquidity on Sui, but they will also be pulling liquidity from other chains and using M0’s underlying liquidity network. 

With the Sui handheld, players can log into their Steam and Epic Games gaming accounts as well as access crypto games on Epic and via other launchers, too.

MapleStory N lets Americans play in test

A handful of Americans got to play a prelaunch version of MapleStory N — but the game will still be banned in the US when it launches. If that makes no sense to you, I can’t help but agree. 

One of the three players mentioned in this tweet told me they were using a VPN, but two others based in the US said they weren’t, suggesting the devs either hadn’t turned on the geoblocking yet or had specifically granted access to those individuals.

We know that the test versions of the game used real crypto wallets and transactions, so it’s unclear why Americans were allowed to play the prelaunch game version.

If I had to guess, MapleStory N won’t go as far as blocking VPNs. But as long as the game is officially restricted in the US, I won’t be sinking much time or money into it.

• The 20,000 Meebits NFTs will be playable on ReadyPlayerMe’s PlayerZero games (Meebits are now owned by the independent MeebCo).

• The old SEGA IP-turned-crypto-game Kai: Battle of Three Kingdoms has some issues with its English version. I gave it a quick look over the weekend. Think slow to load, lots of typos and awkward syntax and grammar throughout. Its overly simple interface doesn’t really get me excited about playing it, either.