Is Minecraft Still Free In 2024?

screenrant.com:

is one of the most popular games of all time, and as with any title that earns that kind of accolade, there will always be an audience intrigued by its existence and looking to access it for free. Earlier versions of were free up to version 1.3, but as the game continued to develop and offered more content to a broader audience, it began to have price tags attached to it. However, there are still some ways to play without paying a cent, although some of these free methods of playing are significantly more useful than others.

One benefit of is that, when players pay for the game, it’s a one-time fee that includes every future update. This includes the most current build of ’s 1.20 update, and will also include 1.21 when it releases — currently, that's expected to be in mid-2024, provided it follows the usual pattern of updates. Purchased copies of are linked to players’ Microsoft accounts (formerly their Mojang accounts). If someone bought a decade ago, they can continue to access additional content, and even mods, for free.

For those who haven't purchased the game before and want a way to play for free, there's one method that's by far the easiest. is a browser-based version of the popular game based on much earlier iterations of the title, and is playable for anyone with an internet connection and a keyboard. Players don't even need to sign up for the service — they simply need to navigate to the page to play, and can even get a link to have friends join in on the fun.

That said, there are some obvious drawbacks to this method that make it less appealing to those who want a sustained, prolonged experience for free. is based on older builds of the game and thus lacks a lot of the modern features that have made it more accessible and streamlined. Any progress that players make will be erased if the browser window is closed, also, which makes the functionality a lot closer to that of a demo version than the full play experience.

Minecraft Classic was originally