Along with this, Minecraft also sought to update their Usage Guidelines and mentioned on how NFTs and the blockchain conflict with their guidelines. According to their words, “We have these rules to ensure that Minecraft remains a community where everyone has access to the same content” NFTs create artificial scarcity that can exclude other people and those that clash with the guidelines. Furthermore, they also stated the NFTs associated with Minecraft; such as through world files or skin packs, or making collectible NFTs based on the game; they have clarified that due to these promoting scarcity, these do not align with the guidelines as well.
Youtuber “SomeOrdinaryGames” AKA Mutahar voicing their opinions on the matter
Mojang’s announcement has been welcomed by an overwhelming majority of the community, since NFTs are a concept which has been plaguing the gaming market. The possibility of NFTs being in games is a concept which many people dislike or even outright despise, as they see it as creating artificial scarcity for a “product” most people wouldn’t even pay for. And for the largest selling game to outright ban NFTs in their community is a step in the right direction, which could discourage more companies from pulling these on their communities as well.
However, with the announcement, NFT Worlds, a blockchain market which trades Minecraft worlds/maps, has seen a sudden collapse. This collapse is near unavoidable as now that Mojang has voiced their “banning” of NFTs. In an announcement on their Discord server, they’ve stated that this was a “step in the wrong direction” for the company, and that as of now, things are still not clear if this ban would lead to a lawsuit by Mojang, and that they will be continuing as they’ve always been.
We've just shared the following announcement on our Discord regarding the current @Minecraft & @nftworldsNFT situation. pic.twitter.com/ARbKABRK4A
— NFT Worlds (@nftworldsNFT) July 20, 2022
This isn’t Minecraft‘s first rodeo against NFTs, as a few months ago they’d shut down an NFT project regarding skins for the game. The ban was also likely due to infringement on community guidelines as well as DEMCA, which isn’t anything new in the NFT market as stolen art and assets seem to be a recurring trend there. While the group says these changes are a step backward, feedback from the community says otherwise, that and the steady collapse of the market may lead to a future where games are left untouched by these tokens.
SOURCE: Minecraft Upcoming Guidelines on their Official Website
