We Dont Sell Blocks Exploring Minecrafts Commissioning Market

We have witnessed a rise in videogames with in-game content creation as their primary mode of play. While there is literature that has examined many aspects of these games, it is vital to explore the potential monetisation practices that may emerge from their context. Our ethnographic research has revealed an active market for commissioning within Minecraft's creative community. Our findings highlight the three principal players in this market: the players, who own Minecraft servers as well as the contractors who handle the clients' orders of Minecraft maps; and the builders, who are responsible for the development of these maps. Furthermore, our work has revealed that the commodity in play is not in-game content, as one would expect, but the service of creating this content. The findings suggest that the Minecraft structure currently in place is influenced by commissioning - an organized process that is that is initiated and maintained by the community that plays the game. MINECRAFT challenge the idea that creating content in gaming environments is free labor that is only exploited by the game's developers.