Mojang Rejects Generative AI, Emphasizes Creativity in Minecraft

Minecraft developer Mojang remains steadfast in its decision to steer clear of generative artificial intelligence in its game development process. As the use of generative AI becomes increasingly prevalent in the gaming industry, evident from Activision's use of AI-generated art in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Microsoft's development of Muse for generating game ideas, Mojang continues to prioritize the human element that has made Minecraft the best-selling game of all time, with an impressive 300 million sales.

At a recent event attended by IGN, Minecraft Vanilla game director Agnes Larsson emphasized the importance of human creativity, stating, "Here for us, just like Minecraft is about creativity and creating, 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." This sentiment underscores Mojang's commitment to maintaining the human touch that has been integral to Minecraft's success.

Echoing Larsson's views, Ingela Garneij, executive producer of Minecraft Vanilla, highlighted the unique creativity that defines Minecraft. "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. 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. 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's dedication to human creativity is evident in their ongoing efforts to enhance Minecraft. The recently announced graphics update, Vibrant Visuals, is set to launch soon, and Mojang remains committed to not making Minecraft free-to-play. This approach of continually improving and expanding the original game aligns with Mojang's philosophy of not creating a "Minecraft 2." Despite being 16 years old, Minecraft shows no signs of slowing down, and Mojang's stance against incorporating generative AI remains firm.

For more details on upcoming updates, be sure to check out everything announced at Minecraft Live 2025.