It’s almost time to say goodbye to Minecraft Earth, as Mojang Studios closes it on June 30th forever. However, this is not all evil. If you have spent money in the Pokémon Go-like sandbox app, you can pick up farewell gifts before going to the big phone in the air. That is, a little free money for the Minecraft Marketplace, and a free copy of Minecraft Bedrock edition.
“Minecraft Earth is designed around free movement and collaborative play – two things that have become almost impossible in the current global situation,” say the developers. “As a result, we have made the difficult decision to reallocate our resources to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community and to end support for Minecraft Earth.”
The game received its final update yesterday, with the removal of microtransactions and all the current but not yet released content that players could try out. They also reduced the amount of time it takes to complete tasks such as crafting and lowering the prices of items in the game to make it a little easier to play.
Players who have spent money on rubies, the game’s premium currency, will receive Minecoins to spend in the Minecraft Marketplace (where you can buy skins and adventures from the player). Players who have spent money on the app will then receive a copy of Minecraft Bedrock edition for their mobile device – which is nice to have because Minecraft has progression across the various platforms so you can take your computer savings with you on the go.
Minecraft Earth came out by the end of 2019, so it will get about a year and a half of life ready by the shutdown in June. Unfortunately, that year was just such a junk year for a game that encourages going outside to meet your friends.
You will therefore no longer be able to download or play it from July 1st, and Mojang will remove all data from Minecraft Earth players. See the Minecraft Earth Sunset FAQ for more details.
For those trying out a little Minecraft Bedrock, thanks to the freebie, here are some of the best Minecraft Bedrock seeds to explore.