Minecraft to launch new community Marketplace

Minecraft will launch a new online store designed to promote played-created adventure maps, texture packs and skins at some stage this spring. Exclusive to mobile and Windows 10 versions of the game, the new Minecraft Marketplace will be introduced alongside its 1.1 Discovery update that's due in the coming weeks.

Using a new virtual currency named Minecraft Coins, players will be able to better locate creators' work by way of in-app purchases tied to their Xbox Live accounts; while creators can "set flexible prices and take their share of what they sell," so reads an update post on the Minecraft website.

It continues: "It's super important to us that this is the biggest chunk of the profit: when a cool skin or map gets purchased, the app store platforms take a 30 percent cut, but creators get the majority after that. For players, you’ll be able access whatever you buy across devices using your (free!) Xbox Live account. We’re currently talking with our platform partners about how to make this happen, so stay tuned."

Price-wise, Microsoft reckons Minecraft Coins will cost around $1.99 for 300 coins, $4.99 for 840 coins, and $9.99 for 1,720 coins, however haven't yet suggested how that'll translate to other currencies. At launch, several well-known Minecraft creators are involved with the initiative including Noxcrew, BlockWorks, Qwertyuiop The Pie, Blockception, Sphax, Eneija Silverleaf, Imagiverse, Polymaps and Razzleberry Fox.

Microsoft concludes the aforementioned post by announcing its plan to host a Reddit AMA on Thursday, April 20 between 9am—12pm PT/5pm—8pm BST so stick that in your diary if you're interested. A limited public beta will launch on Android devices in mid-April, however the Minecraft Marketplace will launch in full at some stage this spring.

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