Tomorrow, Apple will begin raising the prices of apps and in-app purchases across several regions and countries, and this will affect some cross-platform and mobile games’ cash shops going forward.
According to Apple’s message to developers,
“As early as October 5, 2022, prices of apps and in-app purchases (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions) on the App Store will increase in Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, and all territories that use the euro currency. In Vietnam, these increases also reflect new regulations for Apple to collect and remit applicable taxes, being value added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT) at 5% rates respectively.”
What this means is if you’re playing games in one of these countries on iOS, you are likely to see some price increases for apps, the sale of game currency, and other items. Related announcements have already been made by some games set to be affected. Some will increase prices on all platforms to match.
Tower of Fantasy noted that there will be some increases across the board, since attempting to raise prices only in affected countries would be too complex. However, those playing on PC and Android won’t see those increases. Niantic announced that there will be increases in affected countries for Pokémon Go. The Final Fantasy XIV companion app will also see increased prices for Mog Coins, though this seems like it will be across the board and not differ by platform.
“In accordance with the App Store price revision, we will review the price of Mog Coins to ensure it is as close as possible on both iOS and Android platforms. The FINAL FANTASY XIV Companion App Operations team is unable to provide the exact date of the price change as it will be applied across the entire App Store by Apple.”
Other cross-platform and mobile-exclusive games are set to be affected by these changes, so if you play on mobile or buy cash shop items, you may be in for a surprise starting tomorrow.
