Minecraft Sticks to Its Roots with No Plans for Free-to-Play Model

Mojang has confirmed that Minecraft, the world’s best-selling game, will not be shifting to a free-to-play model anytime soon. 

Despite the growing trend in the gaming industry toward free-to-play games supported by battle passes and microtransactions, when games like Overwatch 2, Destiny 2, and Halo Infinite have embraced monetization strategies that rely heavily on additional paid content, Mojang, the developer behind Minecraft, is sticking to its original philosophy of offering a usual purchase experience.

In a recent talk with IGN, Ingela Garneij, executive producer of Minecraft Vanilla, explained the reasoning behind the company’s approach, “Yeah, it doesn’t really work with the way we built it. We built the game for a different purpose. So monetization doesn’t work in that way for us. It’s a purchase of the game, and then that’s it,” she said.

According to Garneij, Mojang’s focus is on keeping the game accessible for as many people as possible, emphasizing that the game’s enduring appeal is rooted in its simple but effective pay-once model. “It’s the best deal in the world,” she added.

The newest example of implementation of such philosophy in action is the recently announced Minecraft LIVE – March 2025 upcoming first 2025 update called Spring to Life, which will be available to all players free of charge.

The update will bring Vibrant Visuals graphics overhaul in the coming months. It will be initially released for compatible Minecraft: Bedrock Edition devices, with plans to be released for Minecraft: Java Edition in the future. 

Vibrant Visuals includes improved visual elements such as directional lighting, volumetric fog, pixelated shadows, and shimmering water, making no changes to Minecraft’s gameplay. It is worth noting that players will be able to toggle between the new and old visuals of Minecraft with a single press of a button, meaning a classic look can be maintained if wanted.

The second update of the year includes the new Dried Ghast block, the new Ghastling and Happy Ghast mob variants, and the Ghast harness. Dried Ghast will be a little smaller than a regular block with little tentacles and a grumpy face.

In order to bring Dried Ghast to a better mood, players will need to pick it from the Nether and place it in water, so it will transform into a much happier Ghastling floating around the Overworld like a balloon. If fed with snowballs, it will eventually grow up into a flying Happy Ghast. To ride it, players need to craft a harness for the Happy Ghast, use the harness to coax it closer, and then jump on it. One Happy Ghast can carry up to four players at a time.

On top of that, Mojang also announced an in-game live event dedicated to the upcoming Minecraft Movie. The event takes place in Midport Village, where players can join Steve and his companions from the movie in order to defend the village from a piglin attack through three mini-games. The event will run from March 25 to April 7, 2025, and will reward everyone who completes it with the Yearn cape.