New Delhi: Microsoft will shut down its Minecraft Earth mobile game on June 30. The game took on Pokemon Go and covered the world in virtual blocks for players to meet and play together, and a huge fan base. Several fans were left disappointed with the news of the Minecraft Earth game shutting down. Minecraft team on Wednesday provided the reason behind taking a call to shut down the popular game. It cited resource constrain arising out of the coronavirus pandemic as main reason behind closing the game down. “We have made the difficult decision to re-allocate our resources to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community and to end support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021,” the Minecraft team said in a statement on Tuesday.

“On June 30, we will discontinue all content and service support for the game” the statement further added. “After many great adventures, we’ve made the difficult decision to close down Minecraft Earth in June 2021. We’re so grateful for all your support, and today’s last build includes several adjustments to make these last months as fun as possible,” Minecraft said in a tweet.

After the date, the players will be unable to download or play Minecraft Earth anymore.

“On July 1, we will delete any Minecraft Earth player data unrelated to Character Creator and Minecoin entitlements,” the company said.

Microsoft first unveiled Minecraft Earth in May 2019.

“All players with paid ruby balances will be granted Minecoins, which you can use on the Minecraft Marketplace to purchase skin and texture packs, maps, and even minigames,” the team informed.

If you’ve ever made a purchase in Minecraft Earth, you will receive a free copy of Minecraft (the Bedrock version) so you can get a fresh start while grabbing some goodies from the Marketplace. “We’re eternally grateful for the amazing talent in the Minecraft community. This was not an easy decision, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure you get the most out of Minecraft Earth before it sunsets,” the team noted.

Fans Disappointed 

Several Minecraft Earth fans expressed disappointment on the news of the popular AI game’s closure.

“Rip Minecraft Earth was such a fun game and it’s shutting down in June 2021, imagine if fortnite shut down instead (sad emoji),” a fan wrote on Twitter.

“Can we get a moment of silence for Minecraft Earth? Didn’t even make it out of Early Access and its already being shut down. I have spent so much time on that game and to see it just.. go, kinda feels really not good,” another user wrote.