Minecraft NFTs aren't meant for this virtual world
Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios takes a pickaxe to NFTs, labeling them as 'not inclusive' for Minecraft players
🙅♂️ Minecraft bans NFTs and blockhain from its popular sandbox video game
💎 Why? NFTs create “scarcity and exclusion” against the spirit of Minecraft
🚫 No NFTs permitted anywhere: the client, servers and in-game content
🤮 Gamers have taken a hard stance against NFT integratation
Minecraft is taking a pickaxe to NFTs by telling players that non-fungible tokens are not permitted in its sandbox video game. Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios lays out the case in its official blog, citing the fact that NFTs and blockchain go against the spirit of the open world game created by Markus Persson in 2011.
NFTs “create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our Guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft.”
Non-fungible tokens not very fun-g for everyone
The reason behind the NFT ban is pretty simple: Mojang says they “create models of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our Guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft.”
You won’t be able to earn, buy or sell NFTs in the Minecraft client, server applications and in-game content such as worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods, be utilized by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset.
While some companies have been embarking on issuing MineCraft collectible NFTs and rewards earned for outside activities outside of the game, Mojang is putting a stop to this behavior.
“Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion,” the blog post says. “NFTs are not inclusive of all our community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-nots.”
Gamers push back against NFTs
Rare in-game items bought through an NFT marketplace seems ripe for video games, and publishers have been eager to captialize on the trend. But the response from a lot of players has either been outrage or apathy.
The most notable example among traditional publishers is Ubisoft and its blockchain platform Quartz. This is an app for buying in-game NFTs (what it calls Digits) using crypto and applying them to the game Ghost Recon: Breaking Point.
The game’s NFTs made their debut in late 2021 and didn’t help spark new interest in the 2019-released Tom Clancy title. Here’s the kicker for those in-game NFT buyers: support for Ghost Recon: Breaking Point ended in April 2022. 😬
Minecraft isn’t going anywhere, but banning NFTs avoids similar messiness. For example, it mentions “There have also been instances where NFTs were sold at artificially or fraudulently inflated prices.”
For Minecraft, enjoyed by 100 million active players – many of which are young kids – buying “rare” virtual goods that may not have intrinsic value is probably a good idea.
Take it from someone who has thrice had to dispute charges for his nine-year-old nephew’s unauthorized decision to buy “G.O.AT.” NBA 2K 22 digital player cards – using the family plan and my Apple Card. My scheme to get 3% Apple Cash back on all of our purchases is making me lose money. What an NFTease!