By Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times
With schools closed and many a parent thrust into the difficult role of managing a job, a household and a child’s education, here’s one unexpected bit of positive news to emerge from the coronavirus outbreak: Video games are good for your brain. Well, some games, at least.
Minecraft, the Microsoft-owned game known for its user-driven content, creative use of blocks and monsters that come out at night, has been at the forefront of mainstream games that offer educational content. The studio’s Minecraft: Education Edition has for the last few years played host to virtual curricula that have allowed students to visit and learn about global monuments, sharpen math skills, understand coding or take puzzle-filled explorations to places as varied as the human body or a NASA-approved jaunt into the International Space Station.
Much of this content, which was at first fueled by educators in the Minecraft community before Microsoft brought it in-house in 2016, had previously been available only to schools and teachers and worked in tandem with Microsoft educational accounts. In March, however, Microsoft made an assortment of Minecraft’s popular educational tools available for free, with easier access for all players via the Minecraft Marketplace.
And players have flocked to it.
Microsoft reports that there have been more than 50 million downloads globally of educational content since it was made available for free March 24. It’s further evidence that virtual worlds are not just places to play or escape but vessels to learning, connecting or even taking part in digital events.
These events, said Helen Chiang, the studio head at Minecraft developer Mojang Studios, happened organically. Rapper Travis Scott, for example, unleashed a single in Fortnite via an interactive experience that attracted more than 27 million players. This pandemic moment is arguably accelerating an entertainment and cultural landscape in which persistent and evolving virtual worlds don’t just live alongside content crafted by traditional media gatekeepers but become equally as vital.
How it all evolves is something of an unknown, as evidenced by the fact that Minecraft’s own educational suite was birthed via the game-playing community rather than with the company behind it.
“The example right now of universities and college campuses,” said Chiang, discussing Minecraft graduations at schools around the globe, “it actually would have been really difficult for us to re-create all these colleges. The fact that we have a tool that passionate Berkeley students can go build their campus, and passionate MIT students can build their campus, that’s where the magic happens. It is not that we do all of these things.”
While no one knows yet how the gaming audience will shift when the world begins to emerge from the grips of COVID-19, it’s become clear that interactive entertainment is uniquely positioned for this moment. Almost daily we discover inventive tactics that users are wielding — not just via Minecraft or Fortnite but also Animal Crossing, Nintendo’s friendly, task-filled game that has become a coronavirus-era phenomena.
Minecraft, which is turning 11 and is considered by many to be the top-selling game of all time, has now sold more than 200 million copies, Chiang said, and boasts 126 million active monthly players. In April alone, the game saw a 25% increase in new users over the previous month. More of us also are playing together — Minecraft’s multiplayer sessions surged 40% in April.
While Minecraft’s popularity has never been in doubt, as Mojang Studios gets deeper into the game’s second decade, the company has been looking to expand the Minecraft brand. Mojang recently released the augmented-reality mobile game Minecraft Earth and the hack-and-slash game Minecraft Dungeons across multiple platforms. For high-end PC users, the studio is also tinkering with graphical enhancements for Minecraft.
Looking ahead, Minecraft has pledged to keep its educational assets free and available to non-educators at least through June 30. Chiang also sees the company continuing to experiment with bringing Minecraft to players outside of the core game, as witnessed by Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons.
“That is definitely something we’re very deliberate and focused on,” Chiang said. “Our players have been telling us for years that they want more versions of Minecraft. The most popular question is, ‘Where is Minecraft 2?’ There really isn’t a Minecraft 2, but options like Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons are ways we can continue to build out the Minecraft franchise.”
If you go
Although the Museum of Pop Culture, 325 Fifth Ave. N., Seattle, is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, put the “Minecraft: The Exhibition” on your to-do list. There will still be time to see the exhibit about Microsoft’s best-selling game, which is up through Sept. 7. Go to www.mopop.org for more information.
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