Mojang Won't Use Generative AI, Minecraft Is 'About Creativity and Creating'

Minecraft developer Mojang has firmly stated its stance against incorporating generative artificial intelligence into its game development process. Amid the growing trend of generative AI in the gaming industry, evident in actions like Activision's use of AI-generated art in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Microsoft's development of Muse, an AI tool for generating game ideas, Mojang remains steadfast in its approach.

At 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 this sentiment, Ingela Garneij, executive producer of Minecraft Vanilla, highlighted the unique human touch 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 commitment to human creativity continues to drive the game's evolution. The upcoming graphics update, titled Vibrant Visuals, is set to enhance the visual experience of the game, and Mojang has no plans to shift to a free-to-play model. This dedication to enhancing and expanding the original game aligns with Mojang's decision to not pursue a "Minecraft 2." Despite being 16 years old, Minecraft shows no signs of slowing down, and generative AI remains absent from its development process.

For more details on the future of Minecraft, check out everything announced at Minecraft Live 2025.