"When did EA buy Minecraft?": Fans unhappy with upcoming paid cape 

The Minecraft community is known for its passionate group of members who have been a staunch supporter of the sandbox since it was released over a decade ago. So, it comes as no surprise, that when Mojang announced a new cosmetic players will need to buy, the community was not at all pleased.

Capes are an integral part of the game's host of cosmetics and offer a fun and unique way for players to show themselves off. However, when Minecraft announced a paid cape, the community was not too happy.

One player, @Ar32Rafat on X, wondered whether EA had bought Minecraft, referring to the host microtransactions and in-game paywalls that the developer is known for.

The update was subtly mentioned on their merchandise page, which stated that starting December 7, 2024, players who purchase the real-life capes will be rewarded with an in-game cosmetic.

The official merchandise website mentions the reward in the description for the cape (Image via shop.minecraft.net)

When @ibxtoycat, a popular YouTuber and streamer, posted information regarding the cape, the community was in disbelief. He stated that turning a celebration cape into a way to earn money was a "real shameless move."

Additionally, some believed that the community needed to push back against this, as it seemed "greedy and overly cheap". Fans were not happy with the fact that they would be forced to buy merchandise to get their hands on in-game cosmetics.

One user wished for the feature to get enough backlash for Mojang to have second thoughts about introducing it officially. They opined that capes should only be given out as rewards, and having to pay for cosmetics makes Minecraft no different than other AAA and live-service games like Fortnite.

Fans are not happy with this move from Mojang (Image via X/@PossiblyK9)

On the other hand, popular content creator and YouTuber, AntVenom asked a very important question — whether these paid cosmetics would be redeemable on the Java edition of Minecraft — since they can only be officially obtained in Bedrock Edition.

AntVenom raised important questions about how these cosmetics will be implemented in-game (Image via X/@AntVenom)

Cosmetics are a major part of the game and its experience, with some paying up to $570 for limited-edition cosmetics. It is a matter of concern if future drops are bundled with real-life merchandise since it becomes unattainable for those outside the US.

The hefty import duty paired with extremely high shipping charges makes it an unreasonable purchase for international fans of the game. The gaming community hopes that Mojang will rethink this decision amid leaks of an upcoming exclusive cosmetic.

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Minecraft accidentally leaked an upcoming cosmetic and it might be the start of a worrying trend

This could be the beginning of a worrying trend for cosmetics in the game (Image via X/@ibxtoycat)

YouTuber @ibxtoycat recently discovered that the Minecraft redeem page had accidentally disclosed a box to use a code for an exclusive Eyeblossom cape. Reportedly, this will be rewarded to players upon purchasing the real-life cape from the official merchandise store. The presence of cosmetics that are locked behind a paywall might be the start of a worrying trend that has earned giants like EA and Ubisoft a rather sour reputation.

As of this writing, Mojang has since removed the redemption page for the Eyeblossom cape. Moreover, they have not officially announced this but the merchandise website states that players will be rewarded with an in-game cape cosmetic upon purchasing the Children and Adult Creeper cape.

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