Augmented reality has taken quite a few strides in recent years and has been incorporated into several mobile games that see players interacting with real-world places through a digital lens. Unfortunately, the current pandemic has significantly restricted players’ ability to interact with real-world locales. While some companies such as Pokémon GO have incorporated ways to play while stuck at home, others have not been as lucky and have begun to shut down. Minecraft Earth is one such example and will be shutting down within the near future.

Minecraft Earth was specifically designed around the idea of freely moving throughout the world and interacting with other players. Considering the potential dangers put on by the pandemic, utilizing a cooperative concept is just not feasible in today’s world. Addressing this new reality, the game’s developers have released a statement explaining Minecraft Earth is now set to be shut down in June 2021. The team expressed the best course of action would be to use these extra resources to help out other areas that might be more valuable to the Minecraft community.

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.

While disappointing, the developers also mentioned that the game will be seeing one last update that will hopefully make the game “as fun as possible.” Going live alongside the announcement, the update removes real-money transactions, includes all content that was to be released in the current pipeline, reduces the cost of various items and time requirements for crafting or smelting, and even grants players a set of Character Creator items for those who sign in between now and June 30th.

Thankfully, all the purchases players made during the lifespan of Minecraft Earth won’t have been in vain. Paid Ruby balances will be converted into Minecoin that players can then use in the Minecraft Marketplace, whether to be for skins, minigames, texture packs, or more. On top of it all, if players made any purchases in Minecraft Earth, they will receive a free copy of Minecraft Bedrock version so they can start fresh alongside some goodies they pick up from the Marketplace.

The official Minecraft Earth services will completely shut down on June 30th and will mark the end of all support for the title. Once the shutdown arrives, any and all player data that isn’t connected to their Minecoin balance or character creator entitlements will be deleted. It’s a little disappointing to see the game only last a couple of years, but perhaps once the pandemic is over, fans might be able to see a new AR title that delivers a Minecraft experience. Let us know your thoughts on Minecraft Earth shutting down and more in the comments section below. As always, don’t forget to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter for 24/7 coverage of all things gaming and entertainment.

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