A child plays Minecraft at the 2015 Minecon in London, England. The game’s creator, Mojang, announced Tuesday that this year’s convention would be a free online event to air November 18. (Reuters)

Fans of the video game Minecraft will only have to travel as far as their computer for this year’s Minecon.

Mojang, the company behind Minecraft, announced Tuesday that its annual convention, Minecon, will not be held in a physical location but rather will be produced and streamed free to fans across the world November 18.

The company is dubbing it Minecon Earth and offered few details of what viewers would see during the 90-minute interactive show.

The reason for the switch was due to accessibility for the game’s huge audience, the company posted on Minecraft.net.

“The Minecraft community is still growing, and there’s only a certain number of players we can host while keeping the friendly, intimate community atmosphere that’s made previous MINECONs so special,” wrote Owen Jones, Mojang’s director of creative communications in an announcement.

The desktop version of the game has been downloaded more than 26.5 million times, according to the website.

Traditionally, annual Minecons have been hosted in various cities for the past seven years with tickets costing an upward of $100 and selling out immediately. The convention would draw thousands of fans to see the best costumes from the game and hear from Minecraft developers and experts.


Kids compete in a Minecraft costume contest at the first Minefaire, held in Philadelphia in October 2016. The event will be held this month at the Dulles Expo Center in Dulles, Virginia. (Minefaire)

As an alternative to the actual convention, Mojang is promoting official community Minecraft events across the country for groups of local fans to gather. One such organizer is Minefaire, which will be hosting its first Northern Virginia event August 19-20 at the Dulles Expo Center in Dulles, Virginia.

The event will feature Minecraft YouTube personalities and events where attendees can play with other Minecrafters.