'Minecraft' Developer Issues Definitive Statement On NFT Stance

Recent times have seen a number of games developers and publishers jumping aboard the blockchain bandwagon, to very mixed reactions. The reveal of Ubisoft Quartz, a play-to-earn platform which allows players to get NFTs within games, went down spectacularly poorly - so much so that shortly after the announcement video was published, it got taken down after getting around a 95% dislike ratio on YouTube.

Yesterday (20 July), the Minecraft team released an official statement detailing their stance on NFTs, and they’ve made their thoughts crystal clear. Specifically, they confirmed that “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow”.

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“Some companies have recently launched NFT implementations that are associated with Minecraft world files and skin packs,” the Minecraft team wrote. “Other examples of how NFTs and blockchain could be [utilised] with Minecraft include creating Minecraft collectible NFTs, allowing players to earn NFTs through activities performed on a server, or earning Minecraft NFT rewards for activities outside the game.

“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,” they continued. “NFTs are not inclusive of all our community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-nots. The speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs takes the focus away from playing the game and encourages profiteering, which we think is inconsistent with the long-term joy and success of our players.”

They also explained that there have been instances of NFTs being sold at inflated prices (both artificially and fraudulently), and that some third-party integrations “may require an asset manager who might disappear without notice”. 

“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 [utilised] to create NFTs associated with any in-game content, including worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods,” the Minecraft team concluded. “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. However, we have no plans of implementing blockchain technology into Minecraft right now.”