Mojang Studio, the developer of the video game Minecraft no longer allows NFTs and blockchain technologies on its servers. This decision is justified by the inequalities it could create between players and speculation, which is contrary to the values of the game
NFTs are not welcome on Minecraft servers
Minecraft, the iconic sandbox game developed by Mojang Studio, is updating its terms of use regarding blockchain technologies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Thus, the latter are simply banned from the game:
Here’s an early look at our upcoming guidelines regarding Minecraft and NFTs.
If you’re a player or creator actively involved in the buying, selling, or trading of NFTs that make use of Minecraft, please read the information in the article below.https://t.co/3S4uYmiSvf pic.twitter.com/Gl0EkoKQqs
– Minecraft (@Minecraft) July 20, 2022
Indeed, on some servers of the game, it was previously possible to find some parts of our ecosystem. Elements such as skins or worlds, for example, could be tokenized:
Some companies have recently launched NFT implementations associated with Minecraft world files and skin packs. Other examples of how NFTs and the blockchain could be used with Minecraft include the creation of Minecraft collectible NFTs, allowing players [to earn] them through activities on a server […]. “
A choice in the name of player inclusion and safety
Minecraft teams are hostile to NFTs and blockchain because they believe it’s counterproductive to player inclusivity:
Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates a digital property based on scarcity and exclusion, which is not in line with Minecraft’s values of creative inclusion […]. NFTs do not include our entire community and create a scenario of haves and have-nots. “
The Minecraft release also states that these various projects rely on third parties that may disappear, leaving users harmed.
We can’t deny that there are indeed abuses in this industry, creating inequalities. Unfortunately, this is a common problem whenever there is money involved. However, this vision of things completely obscures the basis of non-fungible tokens: the notion of real ownership.
Players can spend long hours building on a video game, to reach this or that goal, but in the end, they don’t own anything. Everything belongs to the publisher, who can decide at his discretion to reduce long efforts to nothing. The same applies to paid content.
In addition to rewarding players who really get involved, NFTs are also a token of ownership, which allow to value a work. If excessive speculation can obviously harm the pleasure of playing, it is also a step in the evolution of this technology, which will then lead to the creation of fairer and more profitable economic models for the user.
