Earlier in April we shared the news that Minecraft Coins and the Minecraft Marketplace were coming to the Windows 10 Edition and Pocket Edition of Minecraft in spring, and following much discussion and speculation we have more information direct from the Minecraft team over at Microsoft. During a questions and answers session on reddit they shared a lot of information, and we've compiled it into a helpful summary below!
Marketplace News
- The Marketplace is not planned to come to the Java edition of Minecraft, because it is not right for the Minecraft PC ecosystem ^
- The Minecraft Pocket Edition team are working hard on evolving the command system to close the gap between what is possible in Minecraft PC and Minecraft PE. These changes will be incremental, and eventually some aspects of the Pocket Edition plugin system will be better than the PC modding approach ^
- Developed on top of the Bedrock Platform, development of the Bedrock Platform will continue and the introduction to new platforms (such as Xbox and Playstation) will be evaluated over time ^
- Exclusivity of content is not required, content creators are welcome to choose how they distribute the content they create, they may offer content on the Marketplace for a price and also offer it for free elsewhere, for example on PC ^
- The Minecraft Marketplace is influenced by how people play the game, the Minecraft Marketplace does not influence the way Minecraft gameplay is developed ^
- Existing Minecraft monetisation rules (as outlined in the EULA) are not impacted by the introduction of the Minecraft Marketplace, they remain as is. Each creator offering content on the Marketplace must sign an independent commercial agreement ^
- Mojang are working with their partners to be able to provide all content cross platform, meaning a purchase made for a world on iOS will be available on Android ^
Marketplace Content
- All content will be reviewed to ensure that stolen content is not available in the Marketplace, and in the case where stolen content does slip through there will be a system to report it ^
- At launch skin pack creators won't be able to use the additional 3D skin components seen in some official Mojang skin packs, however this may become available in future ^
- Content creators will be able to offer content for free on the Marketplace ^
- Revenue split between content creators and Microsoft will be roughly 70% / 30% however the specifics will depend on the price chosen by the content creator ^
- You do not need to be online to play with purchased content once it has been downloaded ^
- Any official content previously purchased on the Bedrock Platform (for example Skin packs) will remain available to you through the Minecraft Marketplace, you will not have to purchase again ^
- Creators will be able to update their content, and it will automatically update for players for free, however existing worlds will not be automatically updated to prevent damaging a players existing worlds, only the world template will be updated ^
Minecraft Coins
- Coins will be cross platform, synced to an Xbox Live account ^
- Coins will only be available to purchase with real money ^
- Coins allow content creators to adjust the prices of their items on the fly, without a game update required ^
- Coins can be purchased in bulk and a discount will be available, the more you buy the lower price per coin ^
Marketplace
- The Marketplace is built on top of the Bedrock Platform
- Content will initially be grouped by type (skin, world, resource pack etc.) but over time new categorising functionality will be introduced, like most popular and featured ^
- High quality content is a priority of the Marketplace team, meaning new creators will be added to the partner program slowly and thoughtfully ^
- At launch the Marketplace will not have player reviews of content, however the Marketplace development will be ongoing and new features will be added, meaning reviews may be available in future ^
- Refunds won't be available if a player changes their mind about content after purchasing it ^
What do you think, how does this impact your feelings about the Minecraft Marketplace? Share your thoughts and discuss the future of the Minecraft Marketplace in the comments below!
The source for each item can be visited by clicking on the little blue ^ at the end of each sentence.