Tired of Google and Apple taking a huge chunk of mobile game revenue, Japanese companies are thinking up ways to let players spend money “out of app” 

Game8, a major Japanese game walkthrough site, has partnered with Sony Payment Services to launch S8 Plus, a company that will offer gamers an alternative way to make purchases related to mobile games. The proposed “out-of-app purchase” system will allow players to buy in-game items directly through articles on Game8, without the mediation of platform holders like Google or Apple (source: ITmedia). 

This move follows the 2024 passage of Japan’s Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software, which targets reducing reliance on app stores dominated by IT giants. Currently, these platforms tend to take up to 30% of revenue made through in-app purchases, which Japanese developers cynically refer to as “Apple tax” (source: Otaku Soken). Thus, the point of S8 Plus’s out-of-app payment system is to bypass these platforms and their “taxes,” enabling developers to save on commissions and offer more competitive prices to their players. 

The system links game walkthrough articles directly to purchasing options, so people looking up tips or guides can buy the related in-game items they want directly through the website. 

S8 Plus and Game8’s CEO Shunsuke Sawamura talked about the long-term vision behind this project: “We aim to reduce the financial burden on game publishers and create a system that benefits both users and the industry.” Future plans include offering a support package for developers to implement out-of-app purchases and potentially selling game download keys via Game8 to reach new audiences.