The Minecraft Marketplace has been operating for a few months now, and Microsoft today happily announced that the community has earned over $1 million through content for the popular block-building title.
“Minecraft has some ~amazing~ Marketplace partners, and we're continually bringing new folks onboard,” Microsoft said in a statement. “We started the program with nine folks back in June, and since then have expanded our partner roster to 12, with plans to keep adding more partners. The program offers our players a wide variety of community-created content that they can safely and easily access, while also allowing the community to support one another's work and allow creators the chance to turn their creativity into a way to make a living!”
The Minecraft Marketplace is fueled by Minecraft Coins, which are used to buy in-app content. Creators set flexible prices and after a 30% cut is taken by a platform's app store, the content creators get a “majority” of the remaining sale.
There are well over 26 million Minecraft players on the PC alone. About 121 million copies have been sold across all platforms. Microsoft purchased both developer Mojang and the Minecraft IP back in 2014 for $2.5 billion.
Minecraft Marketplace creators have raked in over $1 million collectively by designing and selling (among other things) their own custom adventures, texture packs, and character skins.
It shows there's a real appetite for user-made content within the community, and suggests Mojang and Microsoft weren't too wide of the mark when they claimed creators would be able to earn a living from the game.
It's worth remembering the marketplace only launched in Spring, at which point only nine creators had been approved to sell their wares. Mojang has since added another three to its partner roster.
Those given the go ahead can then set flexible prices, with players making purchases using Minecraft Coins — a new virtual currency. Store platforms wll then take a 30 percent cut from each purchase, but creators apparently see the “majority” after that.
Anyone registered as a business can apply to become a creator through the Minecraft Partner Program, but only those with proven experience and a high-quality portfolio will be accepted.
Prepare your best WHOOP! Prepared? Good! Coz we’re happy to say Minecraft Marketplace creators have now earned over 1 MILLION BUCKS. WHOOP! pic.twitter.com/bhmfcul0j1
People are playing Minecraft to make money, not just to create blocky looking buildings in a fantasy world.
Mojang, the developer behind the popular game, said Tuesday that Minecraft creators have earned over $1 million selling custom character designs, maps, interactive stories, and other accessories in the game's online marketplace.
The fact that Minecraft Marketplace was only launched in June after being announced in April underscores the game’s popularity and potential as a business to third parties. Creators who post items for sale in the game's marketplace earn a cut on all sales.
Microsoft(msft, -0.47%), which bought Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion, pitches the marketplace as a safer way to buy and download third-party add-ons to the core Minecraft game as opposed to buying them from other websites. In order to sell goods through the game, users must first apply online and be approved.
Minecraft Marketplace is available through Apple(aapl, -1.59%) and Android-based mobile devices, Windows 10- powered personal computers and phones, Amazon(amzn, -1.37%) Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire TV, and the Samsung Gear VR headset, according to a Microsoft support page. It is not compatible with Microsoft's Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, but a spokesperson told Fortune in an email that the marketplace “will be available in Minecraft on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch with the launch of the Better Together Update later this year.”
Correction: Minecraft Marketplace debuted in June after being announced in April.
Minecraft players who have been waiting to transfer over their game worlds from the Wii U to the Nintendo Switch have had some great news.
Developers 4J Studios confirmed this week that a new update for the game has been released which will make everything pretty easy.
This new feature was included in the most recent Console Edition patch, and works with the existing Switch version.
This will be a huge boost for fans who are desperate to carry on their adventure on an upgraded, and portable device.
The new features looks easy enough to use, players will just need to go through a few options on their Wii U and confirm the transfer on their Nintendo Switch.
NINTENDO
Turn on both your Wii U and your Switch and launch Minecraft.
For anyone who has been enjoying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the last few months have been pretty good too.Fans have been able to enjoy the franchise’s first ever DLC Season Pass, which has provided more gameplay challenges for those who might have completed the story.
And Nintendo continue to support their new game with regular updates and tweaks, which help to improve the overall performance on Nintendo Switch and Wii U.
But one such boost recently passed the Wii U console by.
Released for Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch and Wii U, patch 1.3.1 fixed a couple of DLC issues, as well as adding a new feature.
Pokémon fans, it's time to celebrate: A real, true, “core”Pokémon game is coming to the Nintendo Switch, fulfilling the hopes and dreams of Poké-maniacs everywhere.
The announcement was made by Nintendo in a YouTube broadcast ahead of the E3 conference. The game won't be ready for a “year or more,” says the company.
Earlier in June, Nintendo announced “Pokkén Tournament DX,” a fighting game in the style of “Mortal Kombat,” would be coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. This announcement was a letdown for lots of Nintendo fans, who were hoping for a more traditional Pokémon game to come to the hybrid console.
Also of note is that this Pokémon game would also be the first in the main series for a Nintendo home console — previous mainline Pokémon games have only appeared on Nintendo's portable systems. Home consoles like the Nintendo Wii U have previously only recieved spinoffs, like the “Pokémon Rumble” series. This new one is confirmed to be a role-playing game, in line with the classic Pokémon titles.
While the Nintendo Switch can be detached to play away from a TV, Nintendo considers it a TV console first and foremost.
So while the wait for this new Pokémon will be painful, it's going to get a lot of Nintendo Switch owners very hyped. And it's sure to give a lot of folks a reason to buy a Switch.
At E3 2017, Nintendo released some more footage of the highly anticipated new Mario game for Nintendo Switch, which comes out October 27, 2017. Check out Mario tossing his hat onto a giant t-rex and running around in a very fancy white tuxedo in “Super Mario Odyssey.”
