In an age when many dwell service video games of its form have pivoted to a free-to-play business mannequin, Minecraft stubbornly stays a premium expertise. During a latest interview with IGN, developer Mojang stated it's decided to stay with the established "buy and own the game" method, even now, 16 years after it got here out. In short: don't count on Minecraft to go free-to-play any time quickly.
“Yeah, it doesn't really work with the way we built it," explained Ingela Garneij, executive producer of Minecraft Vanilla.
“I mean we built the game for a different purpose. So monetization doesn't work in that way for us. It's a purchase of the game and then that's it. For us it's important that our game is available for as many people as possible. And so I think that's a very core value that it should be accessible for everyone. It's the best deal in the world.”
As the industry has developed over the years, many video games have made the bounce to free-to-download however infested with battle cross and beauty pack waters, with combined outcomes. Examples embrace Overwatch 2’s determination to go free-to-play, Destiny 2, or Minecraft’s Microsoft stablemate Halo Infinite (a minimum of in the case of its multiplayer).
The stress is of course on video game publishers and builders to seek out new methods to monetize to outlive, however that is seemingly a stress not felt by Garneij and her Mojang teammates: “No, no. What's important for us is that many people can enjoy it still and that's going on strong still.”
It’s a sentiment expanded upon by Minecraft Vanilla’s game director, Agnes Larsson: ”I imply for me, it’s half of the important values of Minecraft. I feel it's turn out to be such an important factor of what Minecraft is and the excellent tradition and values, and I feel all of us right here can agree on that. It's a factor for the game and it's one half of what makes the game robust. It has robust values.”
Minecraft will proceed to evolve with out asking its gamers to spend money for brand new options, then. This is exemplified by the upcoming Vibrant Visuals graphics overhaul, which arrives free of charge in the coming months. And with no plans for a Minecraft 2 on the horizon, there’ll be no need to buy the best-selling game of all time again any time quickly. Unless you wish to play it on one other one of the seemingly infinite quantity of gadgets it finds itself on nowadays, of course.
Check out everything announced at Minecraft Live 2025 for more on what's coming to the game.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editorial Producer who can primarily be discovered skulking round open world video games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.