The main question: is Minecraft shutting down in 2024? What’s happening in the world of Mojang’s darling video game, Minecraft?
Minecraft: Ever Heard of It?
Who hasn’t heard of Minecraft in his day and age. It’s literally everywhere in terms of kid’s apparel, toys, any type of marketing item. It even made it’s way from Microsoft to Nintendo by having Steve, and other characters as palette swaps, in one of our top 10 Nintendo Switch games, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, is the game on the verge of closing down anytime soon?
Is Minecraft Shutting Down?
Quick answer: no, Minecraft is not shutting down in 2024. In fact, quite the opposite; it’s more popular than ever. Recent statistics show that as of October 2023, over 300 million copies of Minecraft have been sold throughout it’s 13 years of existence. This number also factors in the Pocket Edition available on most mobile phones.
That’s absolutely insane.
Minecraft continues to receive regular content and game updates to all platforms it exists on. This includes new biomes, mechanics, and DLC purchases (which we break down in vast detail in this article!). It’s on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Windows, iOS, Android, and others; the easier question is, “what platforms don’t have Minecraft.”
Minecraft is literally a cash cow for Microsoft. It’s hard to imagine a game of this magnitude will be shutting down any time soon. However, Microsoft has had difficulty in expanding the Minecraft brand beyond the relaxing open world crafting sim and into other gaming genres. And one Minecraft game is already finished receiving updates.
Minecraft Legends: Insta-buy or Dead on Arrival?
One of Microsoft’s later forays outside of the original Minecraft is Minecraft Legends, released in April 2023. Legends takes the player through the Overworld in a third-person action strategy adventure. Through the game, you explore the Overworld to unite the different mobs (think types of NPCs in Minecraft) against a threat called the Piglins. Sounds like a great time, right?
Regardless if it does or not, Minecraft Legends only received support for one year before the devs announced they are finished supporting the game. While PvP and PvE still functions as normal, the game is already finished with receiving new content through the final update from the developers.
We can only guess why it failed: my take is that it tried to do too many things at once. It could’ve more success as being a pure beat-em-up game in the Overworld or focusing on a solid development plan. Instead, it offered a barebones experience at a starting price of $39.99 while regular Minecraft ranges from $6.99-$29.99 for a significantly more robust experience.
Minecraft’s Future Outlook
Rest assured, as long as Minecraft continues printing money for Microsoft, it looks like it’ll be safe for quite some time. The continual updates it receives continues to pull in millions of players on a regular basis. The main question is which spin-off will be the one to strike the same gold-rush feeling that Mojang’s original hit made?
Let us know which Minecraft spin-off is your favorite through a comment or tweet on X!
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