The Mojang developers at Reddit have announced their departure from the game's largest subreddit through a viral post on June 27. This decision came shortly after the main Minecraft subreddit was inundated with John Oliver images.
Starting July 1, Reddit will implement a new developer policy that requires third-party apps to pay for access to its application programming interface (API). The specifics of the policy changes caused widespread backlash on the platform, as developers, moderators, and users alike criticized the company's proposed rate of $0.24 per 1,000 API requests as unfair and potentially malicious. As a result, popular third-party clients such as Reddit is Fun and Apollo have chosen to cease operation once the new policy takes effect. Additionally, numerous subreddits have either gone private or found alternative methods to protest against these changes.
The main Minecraft team has chosen to withdraw from Reddit due to the site's ongoing conflict. As a result, the developers responsible for the Java Edition will no longer publish the game's changelogs on the platform. Mikael "SlicedLime" Hedberg, the team's tech lead, clarified that this decision was made internally and does not apply as an official policy for Mojang, Xbox Game Studios, or Microsoft.
Reddit-based Minecraft fans who wish to express their thoughts to the developers can still do so elsewhere. Hedberg suggests using the contact form provided at feedback.minecraft.net for this purpose.
Most fans expressed their approval of the announcement, with only a few suggesting that it was a response to the loosening moderation of r/Minecraft in protest of the upcoming API changes. However, Hedberg completely dismissed this idea, stating that the moderators were not responsible for the decision. The developer also mentioned that Minecraft's Java Edition team did not discuss the possibility of returning to Reddit if the platform reversed or reduced its planned policy changes, adding that they would deal with it if it ever became necessary.
The chances of that happening seem unlikely at the moment, especially considering that the site's administrators have been cracking down on the protests with increasing severity in recent weeks. These efforts have even led to Reddit removing some moderators who insisted on continuing to oversee the public backlash against the upcoming API policy.
Minecraft is available for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and legacy platforms.
