Minecraft has won over kids across the world but in South Korea it’s now adults-only.
The popular creative sandbox game by Mojang, which is usually recommended for those aged 12 and over, has been hit with an age restriction. This means that only those aged 19 and over can play Minecraft in South Korea.
This strange restriction is due to the country’s ‘Cinderella Law’ – strict legislation which restricts games that could be played by children between the hours of midnight and 6am.
But rather than restricting play during these hours, Microsoft changed its policy back in 2012 to restrict Xbox Live accounts to those aged 19 and over.
Until recently, Minecraft allowed users to sign in with their Mojang accounts – sidestepping the age verification. But now, Minecraft has shifted to Xbox Live logins only. And that means a new age restriction for those wanting to play the family-friendly game.
And South Korean players aren’t taking it well.
A petition on the South Korean government’s website which has gained over 88,000 signatures asks for the ‘Cinderella Law’ to be scrapped.
“The [law] finally stretched out to Minecraft, which is regarded as the epitome of educational and creative games,” reads a translation of the petition. “Korea will become [the only game market] where even Minecraft is reduced to an adult game.”
The petition states that the curfew law is simply unnecessary and doesn’t address the many benefits gaming has for youngsters in the country.
Despite this, Microsoft plans to go ahead with the Xbox Live requirement.
“We are proceeding with the global migration of Mojang accounts to Microsoft accounts for Minecraft: Java Edition including for our players in South Korea,” they told PCGamer. “We’re working on a longer term solution for existing and new players under the age of 19 in South Korea and will have more to share on this later this year.”
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