Mojang Studios announced its AR mobile gameMinecraft Earthwill be shutting down on June 09, 2025. The “difficult decision” was made because the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has madeMinecraft Earth’s tenets of free movement and collaborative play “near impossible,” Mojang said in a blog post, and thus it will be re-allocating resources to support other parts of the community.
Minecraft Earthwas first announced in May 2019with features reminiscent of Niantic’s AR gamePokemon GO, promising to let players explore real-life locations to gather resources, collect mobs, and then build virtual structures over a live backdrop. After releasing through Early Access in October 2019, the game reached nearly 2.5 million downloads in its first week according to Sensor Tower, and it has continued to update with mechanics such as pistons.
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A new patch released forMinecraft Earthtoday alongside the announcement, which according to Mojang is meant to “make your time inMinecraft Earthas fun as possible.” Real-money transactions are being removed;in-game currency costsare being “drastically reduced;” and players will receive special cosmetics, extra boosts, and “all completed, unreleased content.”
Among this unreleased content are 9 new mobs that serve as variants of the main cast of animals, similar to theMoobloom that almost become aMinecraftmobin a live vote during Minecraft Live 2020. There will be a five-month long “super season” of content to send off the game before it shuts down in June, deleting all player data and becoming unable to download or play.
Minecraft Earthusers will have their in-game currency converted into Minecoins, used to purchase things like skins or texture packs, and anyone who has made a purchase will receive a free copy ofMinecraftBedrock edition. While it is a shame to seeMinecraft Earthcould not make the same transition toplay-at-home features asPokemon GO, it should be interesting to see what the studio elects to focus its resources on next.
Minecraft Earthis available on Android and iOS devices until June 17, 2025.
