Minecraft Developers Quit Reddit Ahead of Upcoming Changes

Developers from Mojang Studios, the creators of the popular video game Minecraft, have quit Reddit following the platform’s controversial API billing increases, which has affected third-party apps such as Apollo.

The Microsoft-owned company confirmed the move in a post on the r/Minecraft subreddit. “Reddit management introduced changes recently that have led to rule and moderation changes across many subreddits,” the post read. “As a consequence, we no longer believe Reddit is a suitable place to post official content or direct our players.”

Following these changes, the Java tech team at Mojang will no longer post changelogs, or details of changes to Minecraft game versions, on the subreddit. It is worth noting, though, that this decision does not represent an official policy for the entirety of Mojang Studios, Xbox, or Microsoft.

When asked whether the developers would resume posting on Reddit if the company revises its API policy, “sliced_lime,” a self-identified Minecraft developer at Mojang, responded, “The decision is based on the current situation; if the situation was to change, we’d have to discuss that then.”

Minecraft, with more than 230 million copies sold, holds the title of the world’s best-selling video game according to Guinness World Records. Its official subreddit boasts over 7.4 million members. While the subreddit will persist without official updates from Mojang Studios, daily interactions could drastically change for its members.

Reddit’s new API pricing scheme takes place on July 1, 2023. Ahead of the change, numerous high-profile subreddits went private in protest, affecting how people could read from the most popular subreddits.

Dac Croach, a moderator of popular subreddit r/Gaming, expressed concerns to CNBC about Reddit’s disregard for its volunteer moderators’ efforts.

“Reddit not only has all of its content generated by users, but all of its moderation is done by volunteers. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of volunteers putting in hours a day to keep the site safe, entertaining and enjoyable for community members. And it’s tough to see that those people, when their voices are loud like this, are being ostensibly ignored,” said Croach.