Minecraft will not allow non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to be used on the game platform The company has described them as antithetical to Minecraft's "values of inclusion and creativity as well as playing with others".

NFTs confer ownership of a unique digital item typically an image or a video, with ownership recorded on an electronic register that is decentralised and referred to as a blockchain.

Digital files are typically copied or deleted for free, however an NFT identifies the owner of the original file for the purpose of selling, buying, or trading the ownership of the file - typically for cryptocurrency.

The hype around NFTs caused a boom in sales, peaking at US$12bn (AU$17.4bn) globally in January. Sales fell to an all-time low of 12 months in June due to the decline in the cryptocurrency market.

Minecraft allows users to create whole virtual worlds. It is extremely customizable. Over the past 10 years it has existed it has built an enormous community of players who design skins, mods and maps for the game.
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NFTs were able to see Minecraft as a market that was promising with an estimated user base of more than 141,000,000 by August 2021. They already share digital objects created for the game.

Mojang the Microsoft-owned studio for development behind Minecraft has ended speculation that NFTs might be allowed in the game. Mojang's developers said that blockchain technology is not allowed in Minecraft, stating that it was contrary to Minecraft's core values.

The company claimed that each of these applications of NFTs or other blockchain technologies creates digital owner based on scarcity, exclusion, which is not in the spirit of Minecraft values of inclusion through creativity.

"NFTs do not include all of our players and create a stalemate of the haves and not-so-haves. NFTs encourage speculation and profiteering, which we believe is not compatible with long-term happiness and prosperity for our players.

Mojang said that Minecraft creations have intrinsic value, and that there were instances when NFTs were sold for sale in fraud or artificially at inflated prices.

The studio was concerned that third-party NFTs might not be reliable and could end up costing players. It also stated that it was concerned an implementation of Minecraft that is entirely based on blockchain technology could also disappear without notice - meaning players would have lost their money.

This is known in the crypto community as an "rug pull", where the developers behind a cryptocurrency project shut down the project and make off with the money. Blockverse, a third-party Minecraft project, seems to be an example of this. PC Gamer reported that the project was canceled in January, after more than US$1 million (AU$1.45m), had been invested.

Mojang stated that it was open to using "more secure blockchain technology" in Minecraft in the future however, it did not intend to do so in the present time.

We've shared the following announcement on Discord regarding the current @Minecraft and @nftworldsNFT issues. pic.twitter.com/ARbKABRK4A

We've just posted the following announcement on Discord regarding the current @Minecraft and @nftworldsNFT issues. pic.twitter.com/ARbKABRK4A

One group working on NFTs in Minecraft claimed that the move was a "step backwards" in innovation and that they would have change to a different gaming platform if they were banned.

Roblox Another game of great popularity that lets you purchase items in-game, is not yet announcing a position on NFTs. Craig Donato, chief business officer of the company, stated to VentureBeat that he could not see any reason why the game shouldn't allow NFTs, and that it was just than a matter of when.

Square Enix and Ubisoft, two other gaming companies, are also exploring NFTs as a possible option. Square Enix announced this week that people will be able to buy physical trading cards as well as digital versions of Final Fantasy VII for the 25th anniversary next year.