Minecraft: a children's game or a platform for advertising and business?

Minecraft is one of the most popular online games today. Despite the fact that the first official release of the Swedish indie game in the "sandbox" genre took place in the fall of 2011, its relevance and popularity have not decreased for more than 13 years. On the contrary, as of the end of last year, over 400 million copies were sold. The developers of this product deliberately relied on the best examples of the 90s. At that time, by modern standards, games were too primitive and imperfect in terms of graphics and usability. But at the same time, they captured the audience's attention and held it for a long time.

And today, Minecraft not only opens up huge opportunities for creativity for its users, as well as any other sandbox games, but also provides a lot of opportunities for business development in general. For example, videos for the video hosting YouTube are being made on the basis of this game, products are being created that collect millions of views, and fascinating user content is being made. Many have managed to build a career based on Minecraft and make a pretty good profit from videos by creating their own code or developing user content.

The accelerated growth of this entire industry occurred during the covid period, when millions of people around the world were forced to switch to remote work, transfer ordinary communication to an online environment, thus solving the problem of isolation. And one of the most effective solutions to this problem turned out to be computer games. But during this period of time, Minecraft managed to go further than other analogues. Having at their disposal a classic online sandbox with several characters and an open world, the developers did the incredible - provided the key to extraordinary, creative solutions. And many business representatives have already taken advantage of these opportunities, receiving a lot of creative ideas for their own development.

Despite the fact that the studio that developed this game has quite strict rules in terms of commercial exploitation of the product and licensing standards, businesses have managed to create many effective campaigns based on Minecraft. In today's review, we will initially get acquainted with the game itself, highlight its features, advantages, and disadvantages. This is what will allow you to realize the prospects of its use not only for entertainment, but also for business development. We will also highlight a number of successful cases of commercial use of the product in various fields. Perhaps you will see a creative idea in Minecraft that will give a new start to the development of your business, help to implement an original creative idea, which will attract the attention of a new audience and allow you to maintain the attention of regular customers at a high level.

Distinctive features and specifics of Minecraft

If you are interested in games related to travel, treasure hunts, battles against evil and dangerous mobs, then Minecraft is probably what you are looking for. With the help of this game, you can be alone with your ideas, thoughts, implement them in reality in an open computer world, get away from various restrictions, show your creativity, an extraordinary creative approach. Minecraft can be installed on any electronic platform: there are no restrictions, additional difficulties. Moreover, you can play this game both in single and multiplayer mode, create teams, choose creative or survival mode for yourself.

The classic solution on which Minecraft was based in the distant past has remained unchanged - this is an open three-dimensional space, presented in the form of cubes that can be destroyed, rearranged, used to build various objects. At the same time, their order can be absolutely any, depending on the wishes of the player. Thanks to such diversity, the game developers managed to create a huge number of modifications, blocks and objects that allow you to implement absolutely any ideas, even very extraordinary and creative ones. Here you can prove yourself as a builder, miner, farmer, and also evaluate many other professions, try the role of a brave sailor and a desperate traveler. That is, there are more than enough opportunities to show your imagination and try yourself in a completely new role, and without any risks.

We would like to draw attention to the fact that in Minecraft, players can choose one of two suitable modes for themselves, depending on their individual preferences:

1. Survival. If you choose this mode for yourself, you find yourself in a virtual world generated at random without any inventory. In this case, you are given so-called "lives", which will be taken away if you fail any of the tests, for example, fall from a height of more than 3 blocks, end up in lava, lose a fight with a monster, or simply become exhausted. The last aspect is controlled by a special "Hunger" bar. That is, the player must eat food in order to continue moving and avoid "death". At the same time, the number of such "lives" is limited. As soon as you launch the game, an invisible timer starts in parallel, which will change day to night every 10 minutes. A particular danger at night in Minecraft is the impenetrable darkness in which mobs hide. That is, it is important to build a house or at least provide a good shelter for the first time to ensure your own safety.
2. Creativity. From the name alone, you can judge that in this mode the player will be allowed to do absolutely everything that his imagination suggests. There are many, many possibilities here. At the same time, there are no longer any restrictions in lives, that is, your character gains immortality and can use an unlimited number of resources, change the "day" mode to "night" at any time, and also perform many other jobs and actions that depend only on your desire and imagination. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that today the game developers have provided their fans with the opportunity to play Minecraft directly in the online environment, that is, without downloading the software and installing it on your computer. And this is what makes its use even more convenient and accessible to a wide segment of the consumer market.

But, like any other game, Minecraft has both advantages and disadvantages. We will dwell on these points in more detail.

Advantages and disadvantages of the game Minecraft

If you conduct surveys among the general audience, you will definitely find those who literally adore Minecraft and have been playing it for quite a long time. But there will definitely be people who will speak extremely negatively about it. And this is not only a matter of individual preferences, tastes, but also what advantages and disadvantages this software product has. For many, it is the ratio of the strengths and weaknesses of the game that turns out to be decisive in making the appropriate decision. So, let's start with the advantages. Here it is worth highlighting the following points:

• A huge variety of game modes, a free, open world. There are no algorithms that a person must follow during the game. You yourself choose who you want to be, where to go, what goals to achieve. If you rely on acute emotions, want to test yourself in unexpected situations, then just choose the survival mode. “Harcord” will reset the entire world after all your lives run out, meaning you'll have to start the whole journey over again. Doesn't this option suit you? Don't want to start everything from scratch every time? Are you interested in building and developing without focusing on mobs or a lack of resources? Then in the "Creative" mode you'll get a lot of opportunities to do this. Are you looking for communication in the game? Then choose the multiplayer mode and create your own team, make collective decisions and develop your own game world together. Are you used to working alone, do you think that your decisions are the most correct, and are not inclined to listen to outside opinions? Then opt for the single-player mode. It is this variety of available solutions that makes Minecraft so popular among the audience, and for quite a long time now.
• The presence of such elements as "bosses", "achievements", "treasures". Despite the fact that Minecraft does not imply the presence of a storyline, all those elements that are characteristic of real MMORPGs are still present here. Thus, in the gameplay, users will be able to perform various tasks related to the field of activity that they choose. As an option, this could be construction or farming, as well as eliminating mobs, approaching a meeting with the Ender Dragon, living in some distant world, which you still need to get to, going through various trials. But along the way, you will come across secret chests and treasures, which you will also have to look for, find ways to open them. This is something that is very exciting, makes you think through strategies, change approaches in order to increase the efficiency of the tasks performed.
• A fairly wide variety of mobs and biomes, game items, blocks for building various objects. Along with human figures, there are also a lot of animals distributed among their characteristic biomes, such as forests, deserts, jungles, seas and oceans, mountains. There is no point in listing all the options for blocks and related items here, because there are so, so many of them. This once again allows us to confidently say that there will be more than enough options for building your own environment for everyone. Moreover, such a variety will be enough for more than one gaming day. This aspect also largely ensures the high popularity of Minecraft among consumers and holds their attention for a long period of time.
• Regular release of updates. As long as this game exists on the market, it is regularly updated. Despite the fact that the developers do not make any radical changes, something new and interesting constantly appears here. Alternatively, prize elements can change, different characters, items, bonus tasks and more can be added. And 99% of Minecraft players regularly update this application, as they are simply interested in what the developers offer this time and how useful it will be in the gaming space that they have created for themselves.
• Open source code. This is an advantage that opens up a lot of opportunities not only for ordinary players, but also for programmers. If you have the appropriate knowledge and skills, you can safely use Minecraft to create your own modifications of the game, add new characters, original plots and everything that is not present in the classic version of the game. You can use the solutions you create yourself, and also share them with other users, forcing them to rethink the game or take some extraordinary step. It is noteworthy that not only experienced programmers, but also beginners can implement something like this, since everything here is quite simple and convenient to implement.
• Simplicity and intuitive clarity of the gameplay. These are the features that make Minecraft a universal solution for any age category. Both small children and older people can easily figure it out. The only thing that in practice causes certain difficulties for a number of players is the crafting schemes. At first glance, they are easy enough to remember, but when it comes to practice, difficulties often arise. But let us repeat that this is far from everyone.
• Ability to use on various platforms. Minecraft made sure that absolutely every user has access to their game product, regardless of what device he is using at the moment. So you can play Minecraft on your personal computer, tablet, smartphone and even on a game console.
• A lot of opportunities for developing creativity and creative abilities in children. Thanks to the openness of the online game world, children will be able to show their imagination, extraordinary creative approach, recreate even the most daring and extraordinary ideas, plans. They will be able to understand color shades and learn to choose color combinations, acquire planning skills, will build a sequence of actions in advance, make instant decisions, focusing on the current situation. These, as well as many other skills, will become indispensable in real life.

If you evaluate all these advantages, it becomes clear why users from different countries of the world love Minecraft so much and remain committed players for quite a long period of time. But still, along with all these advantages, there are a number of disadvantages confirmed by users. In particular, many consider the rather rough graphics to be a disadvantage. The angularity of the forms is striking, depriving the game of realism. But today there is already a fairly good solution to this problem. In particular, we are talking about downloading those add-ons that are developed by third-party programmers and are freely available on the Internet. Among the presented variety, you can already choose those options where the corners of the sharp square blocks are somewhat smoothed.

Another drawback, which is not identified by all players, is not very high-quality optimization. The fact is that the game codes are quite rough, which in itself will consume unnecessary computer resources. As a result, Minecraft may not start on relatively outdated devices. Moreover, in practice, there are conflicts between installed modifications, and graphic additions and shaders can cause a decrease in the frame rate, which will visually look like slowdowns. These aspects make the work of certain users not very convenient.

The last point, which many attribute to the disadvantages, is difficult to call as such, because here the very essence is hidden in the simplicity of Minecraft, including the external solution. Many attribute this game to children. But this is a clear misconception, since according to statistics, more than half of the players here are an adult audience. It's just that adults do not consider the game to be particularly “respectable” play on the same server with children, compete with them in passing this or that stage.

But still, the number of advantages here is many times greater than the disadvantages. And this was appreciated not only by the players. Recently, the very idea of Minecraft has become the basis for the development of many marketing and advertising strategies by various businesses. We will talk about the most popular and high-profile cases below.

Virtual offices based on Minecraft themes

The very idea of launching virtual offices arose in the world long before the Covid times. In particular, relevant information began to appear on reddit back in 2018. And 2 years earlier, that is, in 2016, the Norwegian company Heisholt Inc. opened its office in Minecraft. It is she who is awarded the world championship among all business representatives who decided on such actions. But still, the mass launch of such remote offices came during the time of quarantine restrictions. Thus, the international British holding WPP, considered the world's largest advertising corporation as of 2019, launched an online version of its Detroit office, built from Minecraft cubes.

Another example here is the American fashion luxury brand JOHN ST. This company appeared on the market back in 1962 and for a very long time it was considered a supporter of the classics, eternal traditions. Imagine the surprise of the audience when JOHN ST representatives launched a video on YouTube in which they literally presented their virtual office built in the Minecraft environment. They also recreated the environment of their real office.

If we talk directly about Russian business representatives, the championship here will belong to the company Napoleon IT. Their virtual office turned out to be almost identical to the real one. Moreover, HR managers have shown creativity by opening completely new positions for their meta-universe, such as a security guard-moderator, an office manager of virtual worlds, a pet sitter for virtual pets, etc.

Providing work communications

Recently, the Minecraft gaming space has often been used as a tool for providing work communications. Along with a huge number of servers that provide joint play, mods for internal voice chat, a fairly large number of companies have already begun to go beyond the classic solutions. In particular, the cult indie game has become a full-fledged tool for holding meetings, gatherings, seminars, etc. for many business representatives.

The following organizations can be cited as an example:

• Westchester Public Library. A meeting of Minecraft fans was held here, aimed at attracting a children's audience to the library, demonstrating how amazing and interesting not only the game world can be, but also books, and confirming the usefulness of all the knowledge that they contain. When developing this project, the specifics of Minecraft were taken into account, namely, how much this game can help in teaching teamwork, acquiring writing, counting, reading, and communicating with peers.
• A British television channel. Back in 2005, the reality show "Come Dine With Me" was launched on it. Initially, it was dedicated to cooking, assessing their quality, the ability of participants to receive guests, and create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere during dinner. That is, here the participants came to visit each other and themselves gave their assessments of competitors. And the basis of this whole show was also the game Minecraft.
• LDPR Party. It may be very difficult for many to believe, but still this political organization turned out to be the one that held the first of its kind online meeting in the virtual environment of a computer game, built on its own server. Such a meeting attracted a huge number of people united directly by one idea and interest - the game Minecraft. Unfortunately, the exact number of participants is not indicated here, but it is claimed that 2 full-fledged servers were allocated for the event and both of them were completely full.
• The creative agency Metaverse Metavision in collaboration with the ITV Studios MultiStory Media label launched a challenge for fans of the show directly in the Minecraft environment. In particular, they came up with the city of Minechester, built it, paying a lot of attention to the infrastructure and many other little things. Here, players could lead their normal lives, shop in stores, cook dinners, invite friends, acquaintances, rate and conduct other activities.

Businesses built in the game

The first thing that comes to mind in this case is the global association of Blockworks designers, which has been professionally active within the Minecraft platform since its first days on the market. Among the most famous clients of this company are Microsoft, Xbox, Disney, Warner Bros and many others. In addition, the company constantly interacts with world galleries, museums, film studios, corporations and creates a variety of creative projects, ranging from animation to full-fledged films, interactive exhibitions, installations. It also actively works with the YouTube video hosting service, in particular in the context of creating original author's projects based on Minecraft biomes and locations.

A fairly similar specificity of activity is also observed at the Senior studios. Really advanced Minecraft developers have gathered here. The main focus of the activity is to create an exciting gaming experience. Thus, the team includes Minecraft builders who hire writers, designers, developers and all those who are passionate about this gaming environment and are able to create a truly unique and positive experience for players. Among the regular clients of this studio are the developers of the Opera GX browser, the global business giant LEGO and many famous YouTubers USA.

The Blockbench program is very popular in the Minecraft community, allowing you to create your own textures, custom models, game animations, skins. Here, many users were able not only to create quite interesting gaming solutions on their own, but also got the opportunity to put them up for sale, thereby receiving a fairly good profit.

Creating content based on Minecraft

In this block, as the first example, I would like to cite the engineering STEM college Alabuga Polytech, which, together with the blogger Zeeman, showed the public a rather interesting example of joint work, which involves integrating advertising directly into the content. Along with the classic advertising of the university, a separate mod was created here, allowing you to integrate both the college building itself and its dormitory directly into the game. Thanks to the support of the college, the blogger managed to hold out for 100 days in hardcore survival, and also fit perfectly into the educational environment itself and the world that is revealed in the game. At the same time, the plot of Alabuga Polytech constantly flashes in the video, which, among other things, could also be used as advertising. And the solutions that the college offered the blogger helped him improve his own skills and “survive” in the gaming environment.

The second example of the implementation of the Minecraft gaming environment in materials is the joint work of the American brand TEMPTATIONS, which produces food for cats, and the entertainment content company Misfits. In particular, they have developed a rather interesting method of caring for pets. Initially, they launched a pilot program for Mars Petcare, thereby activating the network of Twitch streamers directly involved in the Misfits association, while reaching a global user audience. Game mechanics that were focused on cats aroused great interest among pet owners. But the dynamic partnership itself here included truly exciting activities taking place inside the game on the TubNet Minecraft server.

Another example that I would also like to draw attention to is the work of one of the most famous Russian Minecraft bloggers, MrLololoshka. Today, his channel on the YouTube video hosting service has more than 11 million subscribers. During the time that it has been presented on the platform, a huge number of collaborations with various companies and well-known brands have been developed. In particular, in one of these videos, MrLololoshka, together with another YouTuber, finds himself in the environment of a fairly well-known computer game Genshin Impact, where they take part in quite interesting adventures. Another popular video was dedicated to a character from the plot block, within which the Tinkoff bank card is advertised.

Collaborations that went beyond the playing field

Not just the game. Many global brands have appreciated the opportunities that the Minecraft gaming environment opens up for them. In particular, its motives provide a lot of opportunities to attract the attention of fans of this game. So, here it is worth highlighting the following companies:

• Burberry. This is a famous clothing brand that released a separate line together with Minecraft. Despite the fact that it was a limited version, including in-game skins, it was loved by a huge number of buyers, as it invited them to an amazing world of adventures. This applied not only to the game, but also directly to life.
• Crocs. One of the most famous brands of beach shoes in the world. Thus, one of its collections, including 5 pairs of shoes and 2 sets of jibbitz, he completely dedicated to the Minecraft theme.
• LEGO. This company also actively supported the gaming motifs, offering the world audience authentic sets containing miniature figures from the game. They are aimed at children aged 6 years and older, but practice has shown that among the fans there are a huge number of adults, those who are fond of the game Minecraft. Here you have the opportunity to plunge into an amazing and so familiar world, but beyond the screen. Alternatively, you can collect a collection of iconic monsters, an exact copy of the house built in the game, large biomes, etc.

These are only the most striking examples, while the real use of Minecraft plots turns out to be much more extensive. And it's all about the high popularity of this game, as well as the advantages that we talked about at the beginning of the review.

Summing up

Despite the fact that the Minecraft game has been around for quite some time, its popularity among players around the world remains very high and clearly does not plan to decline. Moreover, we have shown how actively this gaming space is being introduced into other areas of human activity, including in an environment far from digital technologies. Perhaps the idea of Minecraft itself will be interesting for your business, and will help you find a creative solution for its further development, attracting the attention of a new audience and retaining the attention of regular customers.

But in any case, this work should begin directly with the development of the idea itself. This means that you will need to perform a comprehensive market analysis, including studying competitors, collecting information about the target audience. And you can get significant help in performing this work by using mobile proxies from the MobileProxy.Space service. Thanks to them, you can automate these works, including those related to the processing of large amounts of data, searching for information from sources that are closed to your region at the legislative level. At the same time, you will be able to ensure high rates of confidential and secure work on the Internet, reliable protection from any unauthorized access, and avoid blocking and other restrictions from the system.

You can study more detailed information about mobile proxies at the link https://mobileproxy.space/en/user.html?buyproxy. We recommend that you pay attention to the wide functionality of this product, a huge number of IP addresses and geolocations available for use, the simplicity and convenience of changing the address by timer or by force via a link from the user's personal account, simultaneous operation on HTTP (S) and Socks5 protocols, which was implemented by connecting to parallel ports.

We would also like to draw your attention to the quite reasonable and justified tariffs, especially in terms of the ratio of functionality and price. You can verify the simplicity and convenience of using mobile proxies in practice already during a free trial test lasting 2 hours. If any difficulties arise later, you will need competent assistance, the technical support service is available 24/7.

Share this article: