Unfortunately I didn’t blog about when I started playing Minecraft. It was after the official formal release date in November 2011 but before Microsoft bought it in 2014 (I remember having to shift my account across to the Microsoft servers). That means I’ve been playing it, on and off, for well over a decade. The starting experience (quickly gather some resources, build a shelter and get inside it before the first night falls and the scary things comes out) remains similar but every update brings new things to explore and those updates are starting to come more frequently.

In many ways this is a good thing. I enjoyed tracking down the sulphur caves in the previous update and the dappled forest environment that was added in the most recent one. However, it does mean that there’s an increasing amount of options to keep track of. I suspect that, like me, many players seize on a few of them, have a quick go on a few more and barely even consider many more. I’ve still not done things like track down “Sniffer eggs” or even venture to the End dimension and attempt to pass the finish line (after which you keep playing but with access to a couple more things to help explore further and faster).

I do wonder if there will come a point when the decision is made not to continue adding updates or if they decide that I need to pay a monthly subscription to maintain access? Either of those would be all I need to put down my pixelated pickaxe for good. Even as it is, I can go for months without dipping a toe in until something (often one of those newly released features) piques my interest. We’ll see but I hope I can continue to enjoy the occasional mining and crafting for now.