Minecraft Earth shutting down in June 2021

Mojang Studios has been quietly working away on Minecraft Earth for the last 18 months. Unfortunately, the game won't be making its way towards a full release, as the game has been abruptly cancelled.

Minecraft Earth was Mojang's attempt to capitalise on the advent of AR gaming on smartphones. The game was first revealed in May 2019, followed by a lengthy beta testing period on Android. Eventually, the game also launched in an early access state on iOS devices too.

After many great adventures, we’ve made the difficult decision to close down Minecraft Earth in June 2021. We’re so grateful for all your support, and today’s last build includes several adjustments to make these last months as fun as possible:

↣ https://t.co/D9fEGuOoqX ↢ pic.twitter.com/KyHIToSrsI

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) January 5, 2021

Now in a statement posted to the Minecraft website, Mojang reveals that the game has been cancelled and will soon be shutting down:

“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.”

Minecraft Earth will be getting one final update this week, which will remove microtransactions from the game and unlock all completed content. Then on the 30th of June 2021, the game will shut down for good and will no longer be available to download.

KitGuru Says: Minecraft Earth didn't really have a chance to grow its player base in 2020 due to lockdowns and given that lockdowns are still occurring in many places, the chances of the game getting a renewed push from players anytime soon is unlikely. It was an interesting idea, but it'll be interesting to see what Mojang does next instead.

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