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Minecraft: new Marketplace For Community Creators Minecraft: New marketplace for community creators By Steffan Powell Newsbeat reporter 10 April 2017 Minecraft wants to make it easier for users to access content created by community members and fans. Many users already build complex worlds to explore, adventures to play or even alter the game itself to offer brand new experiences within it. They will be able to sell content through the game on the brand new Minecraft Marketplace. "We would like to help entrepreneurs to establish businesses on our platform," producer John Thornton tells Newsbeat. irc101 Up to now, those who design adventure maps skin packs for characters or other experiences to play the game haven't been allowed to sell them directly to other players. Official Minecraft content cannot be sold in this way. However, a few players still earn a living from the game. James Delaney is the founder of Blockworks, a group of Minecraft creators. He's managed to establish a business in spite of all the limitations. The Marketplace is a welcome development for him. He said to Newsbeat that he hopes it could be the start of a regular and steady income. "In the past, we relied on commissions to come into our businesses, and you never know when it will happen." He is in charge of 62 creators who work in 20 countries. Their main source of income come from creating Minecraft-based content to support educational and marketing campaigns. James "got quite into" building Minecraft maps with his friends online and realized some time later that there was a chance to make a living. "At at least we know that there is an audience there for our content," he says. "If it succeeds then we will know that we will continue to work on a regular and stable basis." "Also it's content we can decide to create instead of being asked to create it, which means we can control the content's creative direction." The marketplace will be available later in the year and will be accessible on the Windows 10 and Pocket versions of the game. This means that the majority of the estimated 120 million users of Minecraft around the world will have access to the game but those who play on consoles will not. "Our idea is to try and connect players and creators," says John Thornton. irc101 "On Pocket edition it can be tricky to get content onto devices, which means it's difficult for creators to display the content they'd like to share with the world. "By connecting creators to the marketplace , it'll make it easier for users to find something they'd like to play with, purchase it and have it on their devices." People will still be able to create community experiences outside of the marketplace, and users will be able to access them for free. Producers hope that people will choose to pay for the content that is easier to find. John says, "If you want people to share your content right now, you need to place it online and let them know where it is." "You can utilize existing social networks to do this, but it's more effective if you bring it into the game." "Players, in the context of playing the game they love, are able to just find what they want to do." He hopes that the game will enable James to establish a successful business. The Minecraft team are launching the new service with nine creators from around the globe to start. The adventure maps skin packs, experiences and adventure maps will be monitored by the central Minecraft team to ensure they're appropriate for the game's audience. Follow us on Instagram @ BBCNewsbeat, and on Snapchat: Search for bbc_newsbeat
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