Mojang says “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow”

Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, has released a statement stating that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technologies will not be supported or allowed on the game going forward.

In the statement on Minecraft.net, the studio goes into detail about the reasons why they don’t believe the technology is a good fit for the game, primarily due to conflicts with the Minecraft Usage Guidelines that state “all players should have access to the same functionality”. Mojang describes NFTs as “digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion” and says that those ideas do not “align with Minecraft values of creative inclusion and playing together”. 

The official policy changes surrounding the blockchain are being introduced as a hard rule to “ensure that Minecraft players have a safe and inclusive experience” and “blockchain technologies are not permitted to be integrated inside our client and server applications, nor may Minecraft in-game content such as worlds, skins, persona items, or other mods, be utilized by blockchain technology to create a scarce digital asset.”. 

The studio also raised concerns about the potential for scams using the technology, explaining that “third-party NFT implementations are also entirely dependent on blockchain technology and may require an asset manager who might disappear without notice” as well as the fact that several “NFTs were sold at artificially or fraudulently inflated prices” in the past already. 

Towards the end of the post, Mojang goes on to explain that they will be “paying close attention to how blockchain technology evolves over time to ensure that the above principles are withheld and determine whether it will allow for more secure experiences or other practical and inclusive applications in gaming. However, we have no plans of implementing blockchain technology into Minecraft right now.”.

Other large gaming companies have similarly shifted their focus away from the controversial technology in recent months, and news outlets like the Wall Street Journal have even gone as far as to say that the NFT market is flatlining.