Regulatory pressure on store billing kept moving this week, with South Korea issuing its first enforcement action under its 2021 law and Apple quietly trimming its rate in Taiwan. Alongside the policy signals, a Chinese publisher's filing gave a rare hard number on how much of a hit game's spend can flow through first-party channels. Together they sketch a market where external and own-channel payments are expanding unevenly, market by market.

South Korea fines Apple and Google and orders external payments

On October 28, 2026, South Korea's Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) imposed a combined 63.7 billion won (about $47.6 million) in fines on Apple and Google — 20.81 billion won (~$15.5 million) for Apple and 42.9 billion won (~$32 million) for Google — for violating the Telecommunications Business Act. The KMCC said the two "effectively forced" developers onto their own in-app billing by imposing a 26% commission on third-party payment alternatives plus additional restrictions, and found they delayed app reviews without clear reasons or timelines. Apple was separately cited for charging Korean developers a 30% commission on VAT-inclusive prices between July 2015 and January 2023, while overseas developers were billed on VAT-exclusive prices. Both companies are ordered to revise policies to allow external payment methods and fix review procedures; the KMCC called this the first enforcement action under the 2021 amendment. On October 29, both said they disagreed and were weighing options.

Why it matters: A regulator has now ordered both gatekeepers to permit external payment links and is treating a 26% "alternative payment" tariff as a restriction rather than a concession, widening the legal space to route Korean users to out-of-app checkout.

Sources

A Chinese open-world RPG books ~60% of its spend through official PC and Android channels

In a Q3 2026 report published October 29, 2026, Chinese publisher Perfect World disclosed that its open-world RPG NTE: Neverness to Everness had surpassed 2.7 billion yuan (about 64 billion yen) in cumulative global gross revenue since launching in April 2026, with overseas revenue exceeding its China-domestic take. As of October 28, 2026, roughly 60% of that cumulative spend was processed through the game's official PC version and official Android version; the publisher self-publishes the title in China and across most overseas regions. Its game-segment revenue for January–September 2026 reached 4.79 billion yuan (about 113.6 billion yen), up 7.09% year-on-year, with segment gross margin rising 4.5 points to 73.79%; in the July–September quarter, revenue rose 36.85% and net profit attributable to shareholders rose 211.47%.

Why it matters: This is a concrete, large-scale data point that a first-party PC and own-Android distribution strategy can carry the majority of a hit game's spend as the primary rail, not just at the margin, including in overseas markets. The margin uplift is real but depends on owning payments, tax, and support across every region sold in — the operational workload to plan for before shifting volume.

Sources

Apple cuts its Taiwan App Store commission from 30% to 26%

On October 29, 2026, Apple told developers it would lower its standard App Store commission on paid apps and in-app purchases in Taiwan from 30% to 26%, effective October 31, in the iOS and iPadOS App Store. Apple said the change followed discussions with the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission and that developers did not need to sign the updated terms by October 31 to receive the lower rate. Apple also updated its Developer Program License Agreement, with translated versions expected within about a month. The move follows regulatory actions in the EU, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and South Korea, though the Taiwan change is narrower — addressing the headline commission rate rather than mandating external payment or alternative distribution.

Why it matters: The 4-point cut modestly narrows the gap between store billing and out-of-app checkout in Taiwan and is an automatic margin gain on in-store sales that needs no action to claim. It does not open external payments there, so for now model Taiwan as a lower-commission in-store market and watch whether its FTC follows the Korea/EU/Japan path toward external-payment mandates.

Sources

The takeaway

This week’s developments show that markets are progressing toward out-of-app payments at different stages. Korea now mandates external payments while fining the tariffs attached to them, Taiwan only trims the headline rate, and a publisher's own filing shows own-channel distribution carrying the majority of a global hit's revenue. Each market opens on its own terms, with its own fees, VAT handling, and review friction — so the work is less about whether to go out-of-app than about modeling each region's path before shifting volume. A Merchant-of-Record structure is one way to absorb that cross-border tax and compliance exposure as the number of distinct external-payment markets grows; for now, keep a per-market map of commission, tax treatment, and entitlements current.