AR game Minecraft Earth to be shut down in June
The free-to-play mobile game in which you explore and build AR structures will turn off servers and support this summer.
Minecraft Earth wanted you to turn the real world into an augmented reality sandbox. The free-to-play mobile game from the same studio as the original Minecraft will close down its servers and end support on June 30, 2021. After that date, you'll be unable to download or play the game anymore.
The original Minecraft lets you build any structure you can imagine in a pixelated world. Created by Mojang, a small, independent Swedish developer, it became a worldwide sensation and was acquired by Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5 billion. Now developed by Xbox Game Studios, it's still a wildly popular franchise.
Minecraft Earth was the mobile version of the game, in which you built pixelated structures overlaid on the real world via your phone's camera. According to the developer's blog post on Tuesday, the emphasis on collaboration and free movement in real-world environments was undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The post also outlines the final update to the game, which will remove all real money transactions and reduce the time and cost necessary to build structures. Players who've already invested money in upgrades will be able to transfer credits to the Minecraft Marketplace and buy cosmetic items or upgrades in other Minecraft games.