Notes

Minecraft Developers Won't Allow NFTs on The Gaming Platform

Minecraft will not allow tokens that are not fungible (NFTs) to be used on the game platform, with the company describing NFTs as a threat to Minecraft's "values of inclusiveness and playing with others".
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NFTs confer ownership of an item that is unique to the digital world, typically an image or video, with the ownership recorded on a decentralised digital register known as a blockchain.



Digital files can usually be copied or deleted for free, however a NFT identifies the owner of the original file for purpose of selling, buying, or trading the ownership - usually in exchange for cryptocurrency.



The excitement surrounding NFTs led to a boom in sales that reached a peak of US$12 billion (AU$17.4bn) worldwide in January. However, in line with the decline in cryptocurrency, sales recently dropped to the lowest level of one billion dollars (AU$1.45bn) in June.



Minecraft, which allows users to build whole virtual worlds, can be highly customisable. Minecraft has been in existence for more than 10 years and has a vast user base that creates skins, mods, and maps.



NFTs believed in Minecraft as a market that was promising with an estimated number of users in excess of 140,000,000 by August 2021. They already share digital items created for the game.



Mojang the Microsoft-owned studio for development behind Minecraft has ended speculation that NFTs might be allowed in the game. The developers stated that blockchain technology was not allowed in Minecraft, stating that it was contrary to Minecraft's principles.



"Each of these applications of NFTs and other blockchain technologies creates digital ownership that is based on scarcity and exclusion, which does not align with Minecraft values of inclusion and creativity and playing with others," the company said.



"NFTs do not include all members of our community and create a situation of the haves and the nots. The speculation about prices and investment mindset about NFTs takes the focus away from the game itself and encourages profiteering, which we think is incompatible with the long-term enjoyment and the performance of our players."



Mojang claimed that the games in Minecraft were of intrinsic value and there had been instances where NFTs were sold at artificially or fraudulently overinflated prices.



The studio expressed its concern that third-party NFTs might not be reliable and could result in players losing their money. It also expressed concerns that the Minecraft implementation based entirely on blockchain technology could disappear without notice, leading to players losing their investments.



This is referred to in the crypto community as a "rug pull" in which the developers behind a cryptocurrency project shut down the project and make off with the money. It appears that this has already occurred with a third-party Minecraft project known as Blockverse. PC Gamer reported in January the project disappeared after over US$1m (AU$1.45m) was invested.



Mojang left the door open to using "more secure" blockchain technology in Minecraft in the future but stated that it has no plans to allow it at present.



We just shared the following announcement in Discord about the current @Minecraft and @nftworldsNFT issues. pic.twitter.com/ARbKABRK4A



We've just shared the following announcement on our Discord regarding the current @Minecraft and @nftworldsNFT situation. pic.twitter.com/ARbKABRK4A



One group that was working on building NFTs into Minecraft said that the move was a "step backwards in innovation" and should they be banned, they would have to move to another gaming platform.



Roblox Another game of great popularity that lets you purchase items within the game, isn't yet announcing a position on NFTs. Craig Donato, chief business officer of the company said to VentureBeat that he could not think there was a reason why the game should not allow NFTs and that it was just than a matter of when.



Square Enix and Ubisoft, two other gaming companies, are exploring NFTs as a possible option. This week Square Enix announced that for the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII next year players will be able to buy physical trading cards with digital versions, referred to as NFTs.


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