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Minecraft Earth servers to close down this June

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By Alyssa Mercante published 5 January 2021

COVID-19 has made it difficult to safely play Minecraft earth

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Minecraft Earth
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Minecraft Earth, the alternate reality mobile game where players could recreate the feeling of playing Minecraft in the real world, will shut down at the end of June due to COVID-19.

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/KyHIToSrsIJanuary 5, 2021

An official announcement on the Minecraft website reads "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 was clearly released to rival popular ARG Pokemon Go, however the game didn't garner as much of a player base as Niantic's Pokemon title. Pokemon Go has had to adjust its approach during the pandemic and rework large in-person events such as Pokemon Go Fest. 

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Ahead of the game shutting down this summer, Microsoft has unveiled a series of updates to "make these last months as fun as possible." Here's what that update does:

  • Removes real-money transactions
  • Drastically reduces ruby costs
  • Includes all completed, unreleased content in pipeline
  • Reduces time requirements for crafting and smelting
  • Replaces unused crafting and smelting boosts with radius boosts of the same level
  • Grants a set of character creator items for players who sign in between now and June 30

Microsoft will cease all content and service support for Minecraft Earth on June 30 which means you won't be able to play or download the game any longer. It's certainly a bummer, and another reminder that we're still living through a global pandemic.

But not all is lost, there's a ton of new games in 2021 to look forward to. 

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Former Features Writer

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar+ and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.

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