'Minecraft' studio wants nothing to do with NFTs

Don't expect to buy a creeper skin as an NFT (non-fungible token) and plug it into your Minecraft server anytime soon. Mojang has taken a strong stance against the massively popular game's involvement with NFTs and blockchain technology. "[To] ensure Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated into our Minecraft client and server applications, nor to be used to create NFTs associated with any in-game content, including worlds, skins, personality items, or other mods," the developer said in a statement. He will soon update the game guidelines accordingly.

Minecraft has a marketplace where people can sell their creations for others to use. Mojang notes that some companies have recently started offering game-connected NFTs. There are NFTs associated with Minecraft skin packs and world files that people can purchase. The studio said it might have been possible for players to earn Minecraft NFTs for activities completed in-game or elsewhere. Mojang disagrees with all of this.

"Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion, which is inconsistent with Minecraft values ​​of creative inclusion and together," he said. "NFTs don't include our entire community and create a haves and have nots scenario."

While Minecraft server owners are allowed to charge for access, Mojang's rules state that everyone should have access to the same features and content. "NFTs, however, can create patterns of scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft," the studio said.

Mojang also expressed concern about the speculative nature of NFTs and noted that some have been sold at "artificially or fraudulently inflated prices". Since Minecraft has millions of young players, it probably wouldn't look good for the game to support NFTs. "The speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs distracts attention from the game and encourages profit making, which we believe is incompatible with the long-term joy and success of our players," said Mojang.

The studio and its parent company Microsoft have good reason to be wary of NFTs and blockchain technology. On the one hand, there has been an overwhelming backlash from the wider gaming community against these technologies. On the other hand, cryptocurrency prices have plummeted and the NFT market has dried up. Even the former leader of the blockchain gaming space, Axie Infinity, was the target of a major hack (with losing victims as a result) and its daily player count plummeted further. two-thirds over the last few months.

Some other major players in the gaming industry have already moved away from NFTs and blockchain. Last October, Steam banned games that allow cryptocurrency and...