Minecraft Earth Shut Down - Official Announcement

During 2019, Microsoft explored the development of a location-based, augmented reality Minecraft experience, conceptually similar to Pokémon GO. This project, known as Minecraft Earth, was made available to the public in November 2019.

However, the game is scheduled to cease operations soon, with all associated player information being permanently removed.

The Minecraft Earth team explained the situation as follows:

Essentially, the game’s functionality is incompatible with the current global circumstances. While Pokémon GO has maintained success due to its established player base and continuous influx of new users, it proved challenging to gain traction with a real-world game when public health guidelines encouraged people to remain at home.

Future Developments:

• The development team will release a final update that eliminates all in-game purchasing options and streamlines gameplay to maximize remaining playtime.
• The game will no longer be operational starting June 30th; it will cease to function even for existing users.
• All player data will be deleted on July 1st.
• Players who made purchases within Minecraft Earth will receive a complimentary copy of Minecraft Bedrock Edition. Additionally, those with remaining, unused rubies will be granted an undetermined quantity of Minecoins for use within the Minecraft marketplace.

This marks an unfortunate conclusion for an otherwise innovative idea; however, the relatively short timeframe since its launch—barely a year—suggests that available data likely indicated limited potential for continued success.