Minecraft bans in-game NFTs as Mojang shuns ‘scarcity and exclusivity’

Minecraft developer Mojang studios have announced that they’ll ban in-game NFTs, saying that NFT integration isn’t something they’ll generally allow as they encourage digital scarcity and exclusivity, something Minecraft stands against. The studio went as far as saying that NFTs encourage “profiteering”. 

The Microsoft-owned studio hasn’t completely shut the door on NFTs or blockchain-related technology, simply stating that integrations with NFTs are something they generally won’t support or allow. 

The announcement comes after some companies recently launched NFT implementations associated with Minecraft skin packs and world files. The studio also stated that there are theoretically ways for players to collect Minecraft NFTs by doing certain activities on a server or earn Minecraft NFT rewards for actions performed outside the game.

The underlying thought process here is that NFTs or other blockchain technologies create ownership “based on scarcity and exclusion, ” which doesn’t align with Minecraft’s vision of creating inclusion and playing the game together. Mojang adds that the speculative pricing and investment mentality around NFTs can also shift the focus away from the game and encourage profiteering instead of players just enjoying the game. 

That said, Mojang stated that it’d be closely monitoring the technology as it evolves over time, and if it does become more practical and inclusive, we might as well see some blockchain integration in the game. Blockchain technologies aren’t permitted in the Minecraft client or server applications. They can’t be used to make NFTs associated with any in-game content, including worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods.

This isn’t the first time a major game developer has taken a strong stance against NFTs either. Valve has also been strictly against NFTs, or blockchain-based games on Steam and Ubisoft dropped the idea of making NFTs for Ghost Recon Breakpoint just a few months after announcing the initiative. 

On the contrary, Epic Games Store did say that it was open to blockchain games last year, and its first blockchain game, Grit by Gala Games, made its debut in June, although not without solid criticism. 

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