Minecraft developer Mojang Studios takes a strong stance against NFTs. In a blog post titled “Minecraft and NFTs”, the studio, which is owned by Microsoft, wrote that “integrations of NFTs with” Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow.”
“Ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience, blockchain technologies should not be integrated into our client and server applications, nor should Minecraft in-game content, such as worlds, skins, persona items or other mods, can be used by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset,” Mojang said.
According to Mojang, some companies have “NFT implementations associated with” Minecraft world files and skin packs.” The studio also suggests that in theory there could be Minecraft “collectable” NFTs or whether players can earn NFTs by doing things in Minecraft on a server or they earn outside of the actual game.
Mojang argues that these practices encourage digital scarcity and exclusion, which goes against the values of Minecraft. “NFTs do not encompass our entire community and create a scenario of the haves and the have-nots,” the studio said. Mojang goes even further by saying that the speculative nature of NFTs “encourages profit”.
I strongly encourage you to read the blog post in full, because it succinctly lays out much of the criticism of NFTs and blockchain projects in language that is easy to understand. (There are quite a few more quotes I could have included.)
Valve has also taken a tough stance on blockchain games and NFTs on Steam, and much of the gaming community has thoroughly rejected NFTs, with Ubisoft stopping making NFTs for them. Ghost Recon Breakpoint just months after the initiative was launched. Epic Games said last year it is “open” to blockchain games on the Epic Games Store, and the first blockchain game came to the store in June.
While Mojang is not completely closing the door on integrating blockchain in the future, it concludes by saying that “we have no plans to implement blockchain technology in Minecraft straight away.”