‘Minecraft’s’ New, Firm Stance on NFTs Is a Big Deal

As the NFT scam fervor swept up the nation the last year-ish, publishers and video game companies have been asked their stance on it from those who love, hate, or are just confused by NFTs and blockchain technology. On July 20, Minecraft finally weighed in on whether it would continue to allow blockchain technology (such as digital assets/NFTS) in the game by players, embrace it more openly, or outright ban it.

While major players in video games like Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Take-Two (the Grand Theft Auto series publisher) have welcomed the opportunity to make a quick buck, Microsoft (Minecraft developer Mojang’s parent company) expressed hesitancy, and companies like Ghost Town Games (Overcooked) refuse to take part. Now making it very clear in many parts of their press release (by even bolding sections) Minecraft has said that the use of this technology will not be allowed in the game following the upcoming usage guidelines update.

As such, 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, including worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods.

The reasons they outline for their decision include the focus of NFTs on profiteering and the instability of the NFT market. The main reason brought up multiple times is the idea that the concept of scarcity and exclusion when it comes to NFTs is antithetical to Minecraft’s values of “creative inclusion and playing together.” They bring up “scarcity” three times.

Crypto world takes a hit

This decision and update to the game’s policy spells trouble for the Minecraft maps and content distributed on sites like NFT Worlds. NFT Worlds has been struggling alongside the crypto nosedive happening for months, but according to ArsTechnica, right after the Minecraft news, the crypto used by NFT Worlds fell 70%. In a Discord announcement posted to Twitter, NFT Worlds stated that it’s working to contact the “decision makers” at Mojang and that if a compromise can’t be made, they’ll essentially pivot to a Minecraft-like game.

Related: The 5 Best Minecraft Cottage Designs and Builds on Gamepur

Mojang didn’t completely rule out ever implementing NFTs and blockchain technology. Instead, they noted that they would monitor the technology to see how it evolves over time. Basically, if it becomes practical and inclusive to integrate into the game, the team will revisit the idea. Considering the immense reach and influence of Minecraft, I love to see them not only turning this away, but outlining why they take issue with it in its current form.

(via Minecraft.net, featured image: Mojang)

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Alyssa Shotwell

(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.

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