Microsoft’s Minecraft game developers reject NFTs

Key Takeaways:

  • Minecraft, one of the most popular games with 141 million users, has slammed NFTs
  • Calling the industry "exclusive" and "speculative", the developers said they will not integrate NFT technology and blockchain into the game
  • Metaverse project NFT Worlds called the move a step backwards in innovation
Minecraft, the popular game from Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios, has decided to ban Non-Fungible Tokens (NTFs) on its platform.
Minecraft, the popular sandbox game from Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios, has rejected NFTs. Credit: Minecraft vis Twitter

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios, the developers behind the popular game Minecraft, have thrown cold water on the nonfungible token (NFT) industry. 

The company announced it has explicitly banned all NFT technologies from the game. Moreover, blockchain technology will also be excluded from the Minecraft experience. 

“To ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated inside our Minecraft client and server applications. Nor may they be utilized to create NFTs associated with any in-game content,” 

the announcement reads. 

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NFTs are exclusive; Minecraft is not!

Minecraft is one of the most popular games out there. Launched in 2009 by Markus ‘Notch’ Persson, it soon grabbed the gaming community’s attention. In 2014, Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios for $2.5 billion

According to Statista, the number of global active users of Minecraft reached 141 million in 2021. In 2016, the game had only 40 million users just five years prior.

Minecraft, the popular game from Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios, has decided to ban Non-Fungible Tokens (NTFs) on its platform.
Minecraft has over 140 million users. Credit: Statista

According to the tech gaming review website TechACake, the daily Minecraft active player count is between 2.8 million and 3.6 million. 

The game generated $415 million in revenue in 2020. Meanwhile, its mobile revenue accounted for $110 million in the same year.

Since NFTs and metaverse became popular, some companies have used Minecraft to launch their projects. However, according to Minecraft, some of the features these projects provide are exclusive and do not go in sync with the game’s ethos.

“Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion, which does not align with Minecraft values of creative inclusion and playing together. NFTs are not inclusive of all our community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-not,” 

the team argued.

In addition, the company believes NFTs are speculative. This stems from the mentality of making investments for future profits, taking the player’s focus from the main gaming experience.

Gene Park, Washington Post’s games reporter, also reacted to the decision of Minecraft. He claimed the game was a big target for NFT racketeering, so he called its policy to shun NFTs a “huge” development.

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Metaverse, NFT platforms react to the decision

Minecraft’s new guidelines have stumped popular NFT metaverse projects built on its platform. 

Giants like NFT Worlds and The Uplift World will have to pivot to an alternative platform. 

Sharing their reaction on their discord channel, NFT Worlds slammed the decision of Minecraft. However, the devs also informed the community that they will be looking to get in touch with Microsoft to see if they can work something out.

“First and foremost, this out of nowhere announcement by Microsoft/Minecraft to outright ban all possible uses of NFTs and blockchain tech within Minecraft feels like a step backwards in innovation and may even have painful downstream effects for them in the long run,”

 the announcement read. 
Minecraft, the popular game from Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios, has decided to ban Non-Fungible Tokens (NTFs) on its platform.
Metaverse project NFT Worlds slammed.

The Metaverse project’s development team now contemplates either moving to its different gaming platform or pivoting to one of the GameFi platforms in the market. 

 If you are interested in Metaverse and want to have an app for the Metaverse universe, some exceptional app developers in Chicago can help you.

Meanwhile, Corey Cottrell, the founder of Uplift World, also reacted on Twitter. He called the announcement “shitty news from Microsoft,” informing the community that the community DAO was already deciding on a future course. 

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Will the decision hurt Microsoft in the long run? 

Minecraft’s decision to shun NFTs is already getting mixed reactions on social media. While many agreed with the sentiment, calling NFTs useless, others predict Microsoft will come to regret it in the long run. 

As Rug Radio host Adam McBridge explained in an elaborate Twitter thread, Microsoft was being short-sighted in making this decision.

Meanwhile, Minecraft has claimed it will continue to follow the development of blockchain technology. Perhaps in the future, it may look to integrate the game with NFTs. 

“We will also be paying close attention to how blockchain technology evolves over time to ensure that the above principles are withheld and determine whether it will allow for more secure experiences or other practical and inclusive applications in gaming,” 

 the platform said.

The nonfungible tokens industry has grown in popularity over the years. NFT game sales alone hit $5.17 billion in 2021. However, with the Microsoft game now shunning the technology, it remains to be seen if the gamble will pay off.

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