Microsoft to end support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021

Microsoft’s Minecraft Earth is shutting down in June 2021, Minecraft has announced.

Microsoft had unveiled the game to rival Pokemon Go back in 2019. The game leverages augmented reality to provide Minecraft experiences to gamers in the real world. However, Minecraft is now shutting down Minecraft Earth owing to Covid-19.

“Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play – two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation,” Minecraft said in its announcement.

“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,” it said.

Minecraft will discontinue all content and service support for the game on June 30.

“This means that we will stop all development, and after that date, you will be unable to download or play Minecraft Earth anymore,” it said.

All Minecraft Earth player data unrelated to Character Creator and Minecoin entitlements will be deleted on July 1.

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Before the game shuts down, Minecraft has released the final build of Minecraft Earth which contains certain “adjustments.”

“We hope these adjustments will allow you to explore, craft, and build more – while staying safe indoors,” Minecraft said.

It has removed support for real-money transactions on the game nad has significantly reduced ruby costs. The final build also includes all completed, unreleased content currently in the developers’ pipeline, among other changes. Minecraft Earth will also grant a set of Character Creator items to players who sign in between January 5 and June 30 .

As for user transactions on the game, Minecraft has said that all players with paid ruby balances will be granted Minecoins. Players can use these Minecoins on the Minecraft Marketplace “to purchase skin and texture packs, maps, and even minigames.”

“Plus, if you’ve ever made a purchase in Minecraft Earth, you will receive a free copy of Minecraft (the Bedrock version) so you can get a fresh start while grabbing some goodies from the Marketplace,” it said.