Mojang Rejects Generative AI, Emphasizes Creativity in Minecraft

Minecraft developer Mojang remains steadfast in its commitment to traditional game development, showing no interest in integrating generative artificial intelligence into its creative process. As the use of generative AI in game development becomes increasingly prevalent, with examples like Activision's use of AI art in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Microsoft's development of Muse, an AI tool for generating game ideas, Mojang stands out by prioritizing the human element that has propelled Minecraft to become the best-selling game of all time, with over 300 million copies sold.

During a recent event attended by IGN, Minecraft Vanilla game director Agnes Larsson emphasized the importance of human creativity in game development. "Here for us, just like Minecraft is about creativity and creating," Larsson stated, "I think it's important that it makes us feel happy to create as humans. That's a purpose, [it] makes life look beautiful. So for us, we really want it to be our teams that make our games."

Echoing Larsson's sentiments, Ingela Garneij, executive producer of Minecraft Vanilla, highlighted the unique human touch required for Minecraft's development. "For me, it's the thinking outside of the box part. This specific touch of: what is Minecraft? How does it look? That extra quality is really tricky to create through AI," Garneij explained. She further noted the challenges of remote collaboration, stating, "We even try to have remote teams sometimes and guide them in building things for us, which has never worked, because you have to be here working together face-to-face."

Garneij emphasized the depth and complexity of Minecraft's world, likening it to a planet. "Creativity is... you need to meet like this as a person, as a human to really truly understand the values and principles and the ecosystem, the lore, everything. It's so massive Minecraft, it's a planet, it's massive."

Mojang continues to build upon Minecraft's success with the upcoming graphics update, Vibrant Visuals, and steadfastly refuses to make the game free-to-play. This approach aligns with their philosophy of enhancing and expanding the original game rather than creating a "Minecraft 2." Despite being 16 years old, Minecraft shows no signs of slowing down, and Mojang's dedication to human-driven development ensures that generative AI will not find its way into the Nether.

For more on what's coming to Minecraft, check out everything announced at Minecraft Live 2025.