Minecraft Launches Marketplace Pass Subscription, Including Over 150 Content Packs
'Minecraft' players can now try lots of user-generated content in a more affordable way.
Minecraft players can now sign up for a new in-game content subscription service called the Marketplace Pass.
Revealed on the Minecraft website, the Marketplace Pass offers access to more than 150 pieces of content per month from the Minecraft Marketplace. Skin packs, texture packs, themed worlds, mini-games, and more are all included. In addition, subscribers to the Marketplace Pass will also be able to claim “a new set of time-limited Character Creator items each month.” These Character Creator items will remain available forever once claimed, even if the subscription is subsequently canceled.
Content packs included in the Marketplace Pass will be adjusted each month, though it has not been confirmed how many new additions to, or removals from, the catalog should be expected with each refresh. Any time a texture pack, mash-up, or skin pack does leave the collection, players will need to purchase that content separately to continue using it. The packs will remain in local storage, however, until manually deleted.
Access to the Marketplace Pass costs just $3.99 USD per month. First-time subscribers will also receive a 30-day free trial, allowing players to try out everything included at the launch of the service without paying up front. All Realm Plus subscribers should note that the Marketplace Pass is included at no additional cost with their existing plan.
The Minecraft website offers a few further details, confirming that, so long as you’re signed into your Minecraft account, “you can access all the packs from any device with a compatible version of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition with Minecraft Marketplace.”
Minecraft Java Edition and the Amazon Kindle Fire version of the game do not support the new Marketplace Pass. That said, the Minecraft Help Center does offer some clarification for those playing on an Amazon device. Content from the Marketplace Pass will still be accessible, but only if players sign up for it through an alternative platform.
Anyone considering trying out the Marketplace Pass can also rest easy that the world templates they download won’t vanish instantly should the subscription be canceled. The Minecraft website states that “you will be able to purchase and download any world templates saved to your cloud storage within 18 months of ending your subscription unless they are no longer offered by Minecraft.”
Microsoft has continued to expand and invest in Minecraft since purchasing it in 2014. The start of 2024 saw multiple branded collaborations released, including the Godzilla and Universal Studios Experience DLC packs. Available on a wide variety of platforms, Minecraft was also well ahead of the curve with regard to Microsoft’s future plans for multi-platform releases.