As companies like Spotify and Epic Games increasingly integrate with NFTs , Microsoft announced today that it doesn’t intend to do the same with Minecraft. In a post on the game’s official website, the company clarified why it banned the use of blockchain technology in the game.
The publication reports that blockchain technology and NFTs are digitally associated with assets based on “scarcity and exclusion that conflict with our Guidelines and the spirit of Minecraft.”
NFTs don’t include our entire community and create a scene between those who have them and those who don’t. The speculative pricing and investment mindset around NFTs takes the focus away from playing and encourages profit, which we find inconsistent with our players’ long-term joy and success.
But the justification goes far beyond the principles:
We are also concerned that some third-party NFTs may not be trusted and could end up costing players who buy them. Some third-party NFT implementations are also entirely dependent on blockchain technology and may require an asset manager that can disappear without notice. There have also been cases where NFTs were sold at artificially or fraudulently inflated prices.
image: minecraft
In this way, we understand that Minecraft developers are also concerned about scams and excessive devaluations that NFTs can greatly harm their buyers. A recent example was the NFTs purchased by Neymar, which devalued BRL 5 million in just six months, a drop of 87% in relation to the amount paid.
Finally, Minecraft then states that:
Blockchain technologies cannot be integrated within our Minecraft client and server applications, nor can they be used to create NFTs associated with any in-game content, including worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods.
