Image: Mojang
While the whole NFT thing seems to be mercifully on the wane, there are still companies – like Square Enix – trying to justify their partnership with a technology that only exists as a huge scam. Mojang is clearly not one of them.
In a lengthy statement posted on the Minecraft site, the team goes into great detail, explaining both why they haven’t adopted the technology until now, and why they’ve taken the steps to ban any implementation of anything blockchain-related in Minecraft.
While it does include a brief caveat saying, hey, if blockchain can ever be proven to be anything other than a massive hoax, then maybe we’ll look into it, most of the post attacks the techies for their promotion of “digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion, which is inconsistent with Minecraft’s values of creative inclusion and collaborative play.”
It also lays out why blockchain technology and NFTs are prohibited in-game, saying “To ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technology is not allowed to be integrated into our client and server applications, nor and Minecraft can in-game content such as worlds, skins, persona items or other mods be used by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset.”
You can read the rules in full below (their emphasis, not mine).
OUR NFTS AND MINECRAFT POLICY
In our Minecraft Usage Guidelines, we outline how a server owner can charge for access and that all players should have access to the same functionality. We have these rules to ensure that Minecraft remains a community where everyone can access the same content. However, NFTs can create patterns of scarcity and exclusion that go against our Guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft.
To ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies cannot be integrated into our client and server applications, nor can in-game Minecraft content such as worlds, skins, personality elements or other mods be used by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset. Our reasons follow.
Some companies have recently launched NFT implementations that are linked to Minecraft world files and skin packs. Other examples of how NFTs and blockchain can be used 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 of the game.
Each of these uses of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital property based on scarcity and exclusion, which is inconsistent with Minecraft’s values of creative inclusion and collaborative play. NFTs do not include our entire community and create a scenario of haves and have-nots. The speculative pricing and investment mentality surrounding NFTs takes the focus away from the game and promotes profits, which we believe is incompatible with the long-term joy and success of our players.
We are also concerned that some third-party NFTs may not be reliable and end up costing the players who buy them. Some third-party NFT implementations are also entirely dependent on blockchain technology and may require an asset manager that can disappear without warning. There have also been cases where NFTs have been sold at artificially or fraudulently inflated prices. We recognize that the creation in our game has inherent value, and we strive to provide a marketplace where those values can be recognized.
As such, to ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated into our Minecraft client and server applications, nor can they be used to create NFTs associated with anything in-game content, including worlds, skins, personal items, or other mods. We will also pay close attention to how blockchain technology evolves over time to ensure that the above principles are not upheld and determine whether it will enable more secure experiences or other practical and inclusive applications in gaming. However, we currently have no plans to implement blockchain technology in Minecraft.
We hope to have more to share with you soon. In the meantime, if you’re interested in reading our guidelines, you can find them here. Stay on the line!
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