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Minecraft imposes NFT ban to prevent player speculation; NFT Worlds heavily impacted as prices plummet

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Minecraft imposes NFT ban to prevent player speculation; NFT Worlds heavily impacted as prices plummet

The classic sandbox game Minecraft issued an announcement on the 20th, prohibiting the integration of blockchain technology into the game to prevent players' speculative behavior and to uphold its widely inclusive spirit. Following this ban, the popular game NFT Worlds developed based on the Minecraft game engine has been severely affected, with both token and NFT prices plummeting.

Minecraft NFT Ban

According to an announcement on the official Minecraft website, Minecraft has decided to ban the integration of blockchain technology into client and server applications to ensure player safety and game experience. This includes the creation of scarce digital assets using blockchain technology for in-game content such as worlds, designs, and character items.

The Minecraft team noted the emergence of third-party teams creating NFTs for use within the game and encouraging players to earn these NFT rewards through in-game and external activities. Such speculative behavior derived from NFTs could shift players' focus from "playing the game" to "making a profit," contradicting Minecraft's long-standing promotion of "playing together" and "creating inclusivity."

"NFTs cannot include our entire community and create distinctions between the rich and the poor in gameplay," said the Minecraft team.

Furthermore, the reliability of NFTs issued by third parties cannot be guaranteed, and maliciously inflating NFT prices could lead to financial losses for players.

Considering these reasons, the Minecraft team clarified its stance on NFTs and stated that there are currently no plans to integrate blockchain technology into the game.

NFT Worlds Suffers Heavy Losses

Following the Minecraft NFT ban, the blockchain sandbox game NFT Worlds, which is based on the Minecraft game engine, was hit hard.

Due to the technical restrictions, the game became unplayable, leading players to sell off their NFTs and in-game token WRLD. The floor price of NFTs dropped from around 3.5 ETH to 1.14 ETH, and the WRLD token price plummeted from $0.03 to $0.01, both experiencing over a 65% decline.

In response to this situation, NFT Worlds proposed two solutions: one is to acquire third-party teams that have developed game engines similar to Minecraft and continue development along the same roadmap, and the other is to transition to a GameFi platform and provide services to any game developers or studios. However, whether the community can accept and salvage the current situation remains to be seen.

Additionally, Sebastien, the founder of The Sandbox, strongly criticized Minecraft's NFT ban, stating on Twitter:

"Minecraft shamelessly kills the ecosystem of creators. How dare they claim inclusivity while persecuting innovation and depriving users of the freedom to truly own and profit from their creations? A sad day for the open metaverse."

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