The Case for a Relaunch of Minecraft Earth
As the game approaches its 15th anniversary, it has witnessed a number of experiments over the years, ranging from multimedia projects to successful spin-off games. Although there have been ups and downs with these spin-offs throughout the years, Minecraft Earth is one game from the main Minecraft brand that really deserves a second chance.
The history of spin-off games from Minecraft has been erratic, with some of the more recent ones having particularly difficult times. Before its support ceased, Minecraft Dungeons had a respectable lifespan, with years of DLCs and upgrades. Conversely, Minecraft Legends had less than a year before their plans for more content were shelved.Both games received flak for taking a simplistic approach to their respective genres and for not making the most of the Minecraft look. In particular, Legends caught the attention of many due to Mojang’s seeming lack of dedication.
Even though they weren’t around for long, games like Dungeons and Legends at least got a chance to establish their legitimacy in the eyes of the general public. But before Minecraft Earth truly had a chance to take off, it was shut down. When the augmented reality game was first revealed in 2019, it was expected to rival Pokémon Go by letting users explore the outdoors and acquire materials for building constructions. Grian and Mumbo Jumbo, two well-known Minecraft YouTubers, were among the many gamers that excitedly embraced the game’s early access release.
Regretfully, the early access phase was the only one that Minecraft Earth ever had. Its collapse was caused by the pandemic among other things, while Pokémon Go, its rival, withstood the storm because to characteristics that allowed it to be played indoors. Since then, the game has sadly been abandoned; Pokémon Go’s ongoing popularity shows how much untapped potential there is in the augmented reality market. There is much potential for a game that blends the allure of the real world with the blocky worlds of Minecraft.
The Time Is Perfect for a Minecraft AR Game
With 1.4 million downloads in its first week, Minecraft Earth garnered positive feedback and improvements even in its early access phase. Minecraft Earth may have easily found a place in the augmented reality industry if it weren’t for the epidemic and other problems. Right now, nothing is keeping Mojang from making a spectacular return to the game. In addition to having an abundance of pre-existing assets and programming, Minecraft is now much more well-liked than it was in 2019. Reviving something that collapsed so badly is also bound to draw attention—especially with all the infrastructure already in place—and might even make Minecraft Earth stronger than before.
Additionally, Pokémon Go has drawbacks despite its widespread appeal. The software is rife with faults, which might be used by a redesigned Minecraft Earth. The game might really take off if Mojang puts its substantial support behind a spin-off like that. Although it might not be able to overthrow Pokémon Go, which has ruled the AR space for almost ten years, Minecraft Earth has a good chance of taking a sizable portion of the market.
Mojang Must Invest Everything Into a New Minecraft Earth
The degree of support from Mojang will be essential for Minecraft Earth to flourish. The game will terminate once more if it is allowed to fail like Minecraft Legends. This brings up the same problem that other spin-offs of Minecraft have: how much money should Mojang put into a side project instead of the main game? If they decide to go the Minecraft Earth path, there would be no other practical way to launch an app like that except with complete dedication.
