Minecraft turns its back on NFTs

Rules are rules, according to Minecraft – but NFT Worlds might have something to say about that.  

Oh my, Minecraft

From the top ropes, out of nowhere, Minecraft developer Mojang Studios announced last week that they would be banning the integration of NFTs into the game. The move comes as part of the game rules, which aim to retain Minecraft’s community vibe by ensuring all players have access to the same functionality.

With 141 million active players since its release in 2011, the ‘spirit’ of Minecraft is of great importance to Mojang Studios. So, rather than embrace NFTs, which “can create models of scarcity and exclusion”, it looks like they are set to reject them entirely.  

Worlds falling apart

As expected, not everyone is happy with the decision – and least of all, NFT Worlds. The popular NFT project sits on top of Minecraft, meaning the announcement from Mojang Studios had an detrimental impact on operations. Despite generating more than $75 million in transaction volume to date, NFT Worlds tokens and NFTs nosedived in value, and its developers were likely sat at their desks with heads in hands.

In a statement on Twitter, NFT Worlds said that the move was “a step backwards in innovation”, and that the team was trying to get in touch with Microsoft to discuss the decision. If no solution can be found, the developers said, “we pivot”. What that might look like, though, is another matter entirely.