Minecraft has been a beloved storytelling tool for more than 15 years, and its developer is looking to mainstain that strong market position. Microsoft-owned Mojang recently posted several job listings for roles that concern the creation and management of interactive experiences built within Minecraft.
The listings uncovered by GamesBeat include principal and senior program manager positions on Mojang’s partner developer relations team. Earlier in September, Mojang put out a call for a director of creator programs and ecosystems marketing.
All of those positions speak to the same strategy: Mojang wants Minecraft to stay competitive amid a boom of creator-built experiences. Through platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, creators are attracting millions of players and landing lucrative brand deals that have collectively brought in ten-digit earnings. Another notable name in the world of gamified experiences is Rockstar Games, which is trying to turn the hotly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI into the next big creator platform.
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Minecraft has a long history as a world-building tool. The sandbox’s literal building blocks have been used to construct working computers, educational resources, and large-scale society simulators.
The success of A Minecraft Movie shows that Mojang’s signature title still commands plenty of cultural cachet. And online, the views keep coming; the official Minecraft YouTube channel recently showed up as one of the 50 most-watched channels on YouTube.
Underneath all of that success, however, Minecraft‘s cracks have started to show. There have been layoffs at Mojang HQ, and the developer is concerned about its ascendant rivals. That’s not conjecture; one of the new job listings seeks an employee capable of “”at the program level, defending against competing platforms (Roblox, Fortnite/UEFN, Unity, Fab) through better developer experience, tooling, and enablement at portfolio scale.”
Microsoft wants to turn Minecraft into “the world’s creator platform,” but that will take more than a few experience managers. Minecraft has been slow to add enough forms of creator monetization. A recent Impact.com partnership was the first affiliate marketing program in the Minecraft ecosystem. Now, among its spate of job listings, Mojang is looking to add a senior director for its creator monetization team.
Roblox, Fortnite, and GTA VI are all compelling platforms in their own ways, but there’s still plenty of room for Mojang to build on Minecraft‘s prominent position in the gaming industry. It may take more than a few “cow whisperers” to match the current standard for creator experiences, but Mojang is ready to add enough new hires to keep pace.
