S.Korea fines Alphabet's Google $31.88 million for blocking games

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S.Korea fines Alphabet's Google $31.88 million for blocking games

SEOUL South Korea's antitrust regulator fined Alphabet Inc's Google 42.1 billion won $31.88 million for blocking the release of mobile video games on a competitor's platform.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission KFTC said on Tuesday that Google boosted its market dominance and hurt local app market One Store's revenue and value as a platform, by requiring video game makers to only release their titles on Google Play in exchange for in-app exposure between June 2016 and April 2018.

Google will review the decision by the KFTC to determine the next course of action.

Google has significant investments in the success of developers, and we respectfully disagree with the conclusions of the KFTC, a spokesman said.

The move against the U.S. technology giant is part of the efforts by the government to ensure fair markets, according to the KFTC.

Game makers affected by Google's action include Netmarble, Nexon and NCSOFT, as well as other smaller companies, according to the antitrust regulators.

In 2021, Google was fined more than 200 billion won by the KFTC for blocking its customised versions of its Android operating system.