Minecraft New Marketplace For Community Creators

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Minecraft A new marketplace for community creators By Steffan Powell Newsbeat reporter



10 April 2017



Minecraft wants to make it easier for players to avail of content created by community creators and fans.



Many users already build complex worlds to explore, thrilling adventures to play, or even modify the game itself to provide completely new experiences within it.



They will now be able sell content through the game on the brand new Minecraft Marketplace.



Producer John Thornton told Newsbeat that the platform was created to help entrepreneurs start businesses.



Until now people who create adventure maps skin packs for characters or other experiences for the game haven't been allowed to sell them directly to other players.



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



James Delaney is the founder of Blockworks, a group of Minecraft creators. He's managed to establish a business in spite of all of the restrictions. SAFE MINECRAFT MODS



The Marketplace is a good thing for him.



"Hopefully it's the beginning of a regular and stable income," he tells Newsbeat.



"In the past, we've been relying on commissions that come in, and you're never quite certain when that will happen."



He is in charge of 62 creators in 20 different countries.



Their main source income is from the creation of Minecraft-based content for marketing and educational campaigns.



James "got very interested in" creating Minecraft maps with his online buddies and realized some time later that it was possible to earn money by selling it.



"At least we know there is an audience there for our content," he says.



"If it is successful then we will know that we will continue to work on a steady and stable basis."



"Also, it's content that we can decide to create instead of being asked to make. So we can control the content with our own creativity."



The marketplace will launch 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 vast majority of Minecraft players worldwide estimated at 120 million, will have access to the game. However console gamers will not. SAFE MINECRAFT MODS



"Our vision is to try and connect creators with our players," says John Thornton.



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



"By connecting creators to the marketplace , it'll make it easier for players to find something they want to play with, then purchase it and have it on their devices."



People will still be able to build community experiences outside the marketplace, with players having access to them for no cost.



Producers hope that consumers will choose to pay for the content that is easier to locate.



"If you wish to share content, at present you need to place it online and inform people where to look for it," says John.



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



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



He hopes that the development will enable people like James to create successful businesses by playing the game.



The Minecraft team is launching a new service that features nine creators around the globe.



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



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