40 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2021NEWS
IMAGE: MICROSOFTMicrosoft will shut down Minecraft
Earth in June
Microsoft cited the lack of free movement and collaborative play caused by pandemic
lockdowns as the reason it’s closing its AR version of Minecraft. BY MARK HACHMANM
icrosoft will be shutting down
its augmented-reality version
of Minecraft, known as
Minecraft Earth, beginning in
June 2021, the company said on Tuesday,
January 5. Microsoft blamed the pandemic as
a cause, as well as the lack of freedom of
movement that the game required.
At its core, Minecraft Earth was a game
based upon exploration and discovery.
During the early days of lockdown, my kids
and I would wander around the
neighborhood, looking for animals, ores, anddungeons to explore. But Microsoft said that
the “current global situation” prevented the
free movement and collaborative play that
allowed Minecraft Earth to survive.
As a result, Minecraft Earth will be turned
off in June. “On June 30, we will discontinue
all content and service support for the game,”
Microsoft said in a blog post (go.pcworld.
com/shdn). “This means that we will stop all
development, and after that date, you will be
unable to download or play Minecraft Earth
anymore. On July 1, we will delete any
Minecraft Earth player data unrelated to