Mojang was in the news yesterday by stating, in no uncertain terms that NFTs are not a good fit in Minecraft (opens in new tab). This is good news for gamers , but not so for those who have already made a commitment to using blockchain technology in games-like NFT Worlds.
"NFT Worlds is a fully decentralized, completely customizable, community driven, play to earn gaming platform where world owners can create their own infinite metaverse games or experiences for players or communities within their worlds," its website (opens in a new tab) states.
"Currently using Minecraft and its vast open-source ecosystem, NFT Worlds builds on the foundation of decades worth of open source development within the Minecraft community. It radically expands on it to enable an entirely new types of 3D voxel-based, decentralized gaming metaverses that are backed by the Ethereum blockchain."
What this means, in essence is that it can support custom Minecraft servers that allow players to buy virtual land and earn (and spend) cryptocurrency, a hybrid system that Mojang's blockchain policy seems specifically aimed at shutting down. It certainly had an impact: The price of $WRLD (opens new tab) plummeted immediately after Mojang's announcement.
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In response to Mojang's new policy, NFT Worlds has issued an official statement (opens in new tab) condemning Mojang and Minecraft as having "no respect for builders, creators, and players," and vowing to create its own game to replace it.
"We're creating a new platform and game based on the basic mechanics of Minecraft however, thanks to modernization and ongoing development Minecraft has been missing for a long time," NFT Worlds said. "This is not a remake of an open source Minecraft replica, which would violate the EULA or even risk legal action, this is completely built from scratch. The public will also be able see a brand identity change that is more friendly to players as part of this change.
The Future Of NFT Worlds Read our statement below through the attached Twitter thread, or here: https://t.co/w0nf1f2xxnA thread pic.twitter.com/Oy2T7oXQVgJuly 22, 2022
The new game will have an "playstyle, look, and feel" similar to Minecraft, NFT Worlds said, but will feature performance optimizations, graphics enhancements and new mechanics that will provide "a more affordable, accessible and enjoyable experience." It will be free for all players, and "completely untethered from the policies that Microsoft and Mojang have over Minecraft." However it will also be backwards compatible with existing Minecraft server plugins, so when the time comes to change platforms content creators will be capable of making the switch without a lot of fuss and hassle.
Making an even better Minecraft than Minecraft (while keeping compatibility with Minecraft) is a big job and one that would invite some immediate and rigorous investigation from Microsoft however, NFT Worlds doesn't have many options. Mojang has effectively ended its business model. However, a wholesale change from a brand new game would mean that existing users and all the work they've done to date would be left behind. The only way to keep the wheels turning is to create something that functions like Minecraft but not actually Minecraft. This is a challenging task.
NFT Worlds stated that it will make changes to its launcher and play pages in order to attract new players not interested in the cryptocurrency angle. It also laid out some very significant, high stakes scenarios for the future of NFT Worlds as a fight for the philosophical and technological heart of the internet.
"Microsoft has made it clear they will always act in the interest of their shareholders and balance sheets at the expense of innovation, user experience and creators," NFT Worlds said. "We believe an open, free, and a more evolved version of Minecraft that Minecraft brought to the world will create the best option for developers, creators and ultimately gamers.
"We're fighting for a future with a player owned and controlled economy, where everyone benefits from their contribution to the ecosystem. This is a massive undertaking.
I've reached out to Microsoft for a response on the NFT Worlds plan and will make an update if I receive any response.
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