Mojang has confirmed that Minecraft Earth will officially shut down today.
The location-based augmented reality mobile title originally launched in October 2019, earning 2.5 million downloads within its first month but struggled to find an audience in the ensuing months/year.
In January, Mojang announced the decision to close Minecraft Earth citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, it stated that the game was “designed around free movement and collaborative play – two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation.”
The studio then confirmed it would be reallocating resources to other areas of the Minecraft community, with the “final build” released on January 5th, 2021.
20 months live
While Pokémon GO has accumulated $4 billion and continued to find huge success ahead of its fifth anniversary in July, Minecraft Earth only managed to generate $516,000 from player spending in 20 months.
The top country for revenue went to the US with $308,000, or just under 60 per cent of the overall figure. The second spot went to the UK, with those in Canada claiming third position.
The final global downloads total came to approximately 21.3 million from across the App Store and Google Play. Again the US topped the lot at 6.7 million (31.4 per cent) downloads before the UK and Russia followed in second and third respectively.
Mojang encourages anyone with unresolved questions about their Minecraft Earth account to head to its FAQ page.
The original reveal trailer can be watched below:
Mojang Studios and Sega recently partnered together to add Sonic the Hedgehog to Minecraft as part of the character’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
We previously spoke to Minecraft Earth executive producer Jessica Zahn about making a location-based game in 2020.
