In a blog post on Minecraft.Net, Microsoft has announced that Minecraft Earth is coming to an end that seems at least tangentially related to the ongoing pandemic that will not go away.
The statement reads the, as Minecraft Earth was centered around ‘free movement and collaborative play’ which has since become impossible thanks to the current state of the ‘global situation’, they have made the ‘difficult decision’ to re-allocate resources in other parts of the Minecraft community, officially ending support for Minecraft Earth on June 2021.
The ending of support doesn’t mean that there won’t be additional updates; it means the entirety of the title is going to be unavailable to play. Minecraft Earth is officially in its death throes, brought upon allegedly by an unflagging pandemic.
Yesterday, Minecraft Earth received its final update; it removes all real-money transactions while greatly dropping the cost of rubies.
Everything currently in the pipeline regarding upcoming content has been released; rather unceremoniously, at that.
After many great adventures, we’ve made the difficult decision to close down Minecraft Earth in June 2021. We’re so grateful for all your support, and today’s last build includes several adjustments to make these last months as fun as possible:
↣ https://t.co/D9fEGuOoqX ↢ pic.twitter.com/KyHIToSrsI
— Minecraft (@Minecraft) January 5, 2021
All crafting requirements and times have also been greatly reduced while offering all players Character Creator items.
They encourage players to enjoy what’s left of Minecraft Earth while safely staying indoors; a message that echoes the climate of the planet as it is currently found almost everywhere with a statement of gravitas. For players that have made a purchase in Minecraft Earth, they’ll be receiving a free copy of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (the one with a bunch of paid mods and expensive texture packs), and all ruby balances will be directly converted to ‘Minecoins‘, the pseudo-currency for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition that tumbles real money into strange points that are then used to purchase mods.
Frankly, Minecraft Earth seemed to have missed the entire point of Minecraft: to build and let others experience your builds. The title is officially dead in Early Access, but what was there was frankly disappointing: exploration was limited, sharing creations was a frustrating endeavor, and it seemed groomed from the get-go to encourage a consistent trickle of microtransactions rather than any gameplay truly worth exploring and sharing with others.
That the pandemic came along and dealt a killing blow to the title before even more resources were drained into it may actually be one of the only saving graces that COVID-19 has offered the world at large, although perhaps that is allowing the cynicism far too much room to develop.
Earth is now closed: we apologize for the inconvenience.
