There are few things more aggravating than an injudiciously-chosen user name. Like The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, what seemed like a good idea in the heat of the moment grows stale, and then silly, and eventually you find yourself explaining to every new person you meet that, hey, Emilio Estevez was huge in the '90s. Same thing with Minecraft: You pick a name, and for good or ill, you're stuck with it. But perhaps not for much longer.
The Minecraft support site says the ability to change user names won't be implemented prior to the release of Minecraft 1.8, and then further complicates the matter by adding, "This does not mean that 1.8 is the release date for the username change feature." It won't happen before 1.8, in other words, but it might happen after—like, way after. Maybe even never!
But maybe sooner than that, too. Minecraft developer Kristoffer Jelbring posted a cryptic, two-word tweet earlier today that said simply, "Teaser. #minecraft," with an attached image showing his profile name and the word "Change" behind it. The obvious implication is that Minecraft 1.8 will in fact offer the name-change functionality, and that it's coming (relatively) soon.
The option to change your user name doesn't really sound like a big deal, until you're forced to tell a fellow adult who wants to join you in the game that you're "\m/_BONGMONSTER666_\m/." Once you've done that a couple of times, you may feel a little differently about it.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.
