Axie Infinity Evades Apple Store Tax: Launches Lite Version on App Store

• Apple imposed a 30% tax on Web3 apps in 2022.
• Sky Mavis found a workaround to launch its game Axie Infinity on the App Store without paying the tax.
• The game studio released a Lite version of its game, removing NFT trading from the app entirely.

Apple’s 30% Tax on Web3 Apps

In 2022, Apple imposed a 30% tax on all in-app purchases, including sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This strict stance has not only discouraged Web3 projects from launching their apps on the App Store but also elicited strong criticism from notable figures within the Web3 community.

Axie Infinity’s Listing Loophole

Web3 giant Sky Mavis found a workaround to launch its hit blockchain game Axie Infinity on the App Store without paying the 30% cut. It released a Lite version of its game, removing NFT trading from the app entirely and allowing players to join with free non-NFT starter Axies. Additionally, since it operates on Sky Mavis’ Ethereum-based Ronin sidechain, users can transfer their own NFTs into the game.

Axie Infinity’s Milestone

This marks as an important milestone for both Sky Mavis and Apple as this is the first time Apple has agreed to make an externally-purchased NFT usable on its platform. Moreover, following Axie Infinity’s listing, its native token surged in value significantly.

Future Developments

Despite launching their game already, Sky Mavis are still developing new features for it that will be announced soon according to co-founder Aleksander Leonard Larsen.

Conclusion

The success of Sky Mavis finding this workaround could open up doors for more Web3 projects to list their games onto Apple’s App Store without having to pay such high taxes or go through long listing processes.