Microsoft says it is shutting down augmented reality game "Minecraft Earth" in June 2021 due to the restricted movement and lack of social mingling brought about by the global health crisis.
First demoed at WWDC 2019 before launching in November the same year, "Minecraft Earth" gained plaudits for its use of AR to superimpose the game's collaborative creations onto the real world.
On Tuesday, however, Microsoft announced on its blog that the game will be discontinued on June 30 as the company re-allocates its resources "to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community," given the present global situation.
Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play – two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to re-allocate our resources to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community and to end support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021.
Despite the decision, Microsoft released one final update to "Minecraft Earth" on Tuesday that includes changes and improvements to make players' remaining time in the game "as fun as possible." Amongst other things, the update removes real-money transactions, reduces ruby costs and time requirements for crafting and smelting, and grants a set of character creator items to players who sign in between now and June 30.
In addition, players with paid ruby balances will be granted Minecoins, which can be used on the Minecraft Marketplace to purchase skin and texture packs, maps, and minigames. Anyone who has ever made a purchase in "Minecraft Earth" will also receive a free copy of "Minecraft" (the Bedrock version), according to Microsoft.
Microsoft signed off the blog by thanking all the players and creators that contributed to the "Minecraft Earth" community during its lifespan:
Your feedback and creations brought this game to an entirely different level, from the regular build challenges you absolutely smashed to the incredible builds you shared on social media. We're eternally grateful for the amazing talent in the Minecraft community. This was not an easy decision, and we're doing everything we can to make sure you get the most out of Minecraft Earth before it sunsets.
"Minecraft Earth" is a free download for iPhone and iPad on the App Store [Direct Link].
