Minecraft centers on user-generated content, so it’s only natural that a centralized marketplace where users could share their epic creations and make a bit of scratch would eventually pop up, and today, Mojang announced just such a thing for the Windows 10 and Pocket Edition of Minecraft, as well as coins to use in said marketplace. The coins won’t be Minecraft’s first foray into microtransactions, of course; skins and other resources for the Pocket Edition have been available for quite some time now. The coins will be a more flexible way for creators to decide exactly what their efforts are worth. For their part, Mojang has announced that sales will take a 30% cut off the top, though it’s unclear just how much of that will end up in Mojang’s pocket. The marketplace is going to be launching in a beta form later this month, with the real deal launching some time before this summer.
The marketplace is currently only open for selling to those with a registered business and established wares to sell in the world of Minecraft. Mojang has a small contingent of creators on board to start with, and is currently taking applications for more. Everything from skins, to maps, to texture packs, and even entirely new objects that change up gameplay a bit are all a part of Minecraft’s bustling community, and almost all of those elements will be making their way into the marketplace at some point. Naturally, player-generated resources available online for free can still be found, downloaded, and loaded into the game.
On top of unveiling the new Marketplace and coins to spend in it, Mojang assured players that the vaunted Discovery Update is coming soon. For those who may not know, that update will bring, among other things, a slew of new items, new lands, and new creatures to Minecraft, including a special Totem of Undying that can help players to cheat death; that totem seems to be linked to a brand new questline, though details are still thin. To ice the cake, Mojang has announced that they will be holding a Reddit AMA session on Thursday, April 20, from 9 AM to 12 PM PST, where players can ask them about things like the new updates or the future of the game’s development.
