Minecraft: New Marketplace For Community Creators

Minecraft: New marketplace for community creators By Steffan Powell Newsbeat reporter

10 April 2017

Minecraft wants to make it easier for users to access content created by community members and fans.

Many users have already created complex worlds to explore or adventures to take pleasure in, or altered the game to create new experiences.

Now they'll be able to legally sell the content via the game itself, in the brand-new Minecraft Marketplace.

"We are looking to allow entrepreneurs to start businesses through our platform," producer John Thornton tells Newsbeat.

The people who create adventure maps, character skins or experiences for the game aren't allowed to sell them to other players.

Only official Minecraft content could be sold this way However, it's not stopped some people from making a living from the game.

James Delaney, is founder of the group of Minecraft creators known as Blockworks and he's created a successful business despite the restrictions.

He is happy to welcome the Marketplace.

He said to Newsbeat that he hopes it will be the start of a regular and steady income.

"In the past, we relied on commissions to come into our businesses, and you do not know when that time will come."

He is responsible for 62 creators who work in 20 countries.

Their main source of income comes from creating Minecraft-based content for marketing and educational purposes.

James "got quite into" making Minecraft maps with his online friends and realized in the following years that it was possible to earn a living from it.

He adds, "At least now we have a sense of the audience for our content."

"If it's successful, then we know we can keep working on a more regular and stable basis.

"Also it's content we can make, rather than being asked to make. So we have creative control over it."

The marketplace will be available in the latter part of the year. It will be available on the Pocket and Windows 10 versions of the game.

This means that the majority of the estimated 120 million users of Minecraft around the world will be able to access it however, those who play on consoles will not.

John Thornton states, "Our goal is to work towards connecting creators and players."
https://strongcraft.org/

"On Pocket edition it can be tricky to get content onto devices, so it's difficult for creators to show off their content with the world.

"By connecting creators and the marketplace, it will make it easier for players to find something they like, purchase it, and then store it available on their devices."

Players will be able to access them for free, so users can still create community experiences.

Producers hope that viewers will be willing to pay for content that is easy to find.

John says, "If you want people to share your content right now, you must put it somewhere online and tell them where it is."

"You can use existing social media platforms to accomplish this, but it's more effective to bring that into the game itself.

"Players can interact with the things they'd like to in the context of the game they enjoy."

He hopes that the game will help James to start an effective business.

The Minecraft team is launching a new service with nine creators from around the globe.

The central Minecraft team will be monitoring the adventure maps, skin packs and experiences to ensure they are appropriate for the game's audience.

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