What happened to Minecraft Story Mode? History explained

Minecraft Story Mode and its sudden shutdown have intrigued many fans. Minecraft is a game that has stood the test of time, selling millions of copies and having a large number of active players at any given time. With the upcoming Minecraft 1.21 update, the game proves that it is here to stay and grow even more. But the same cannot be said about the different spinoffs, such as Story Mode.

A story mode for a game that sold millions of copies sounds like a perfect idea, but sadly, it cannot be downloaded anymore as Mojang has delisted the game from every platform. So what happened to Minecraft Story Mode, and why was it discontinued despite having all the ingredients for success? Here’s the history behind the discontinued game and the unfortunate fate it met.

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Minecraft Story Mode: The Beginning

Story Mode characters (image via Mojang Studios)

The idea for making Minecraft story Mode for the original game came back in 2012, only a few years after the game’s initial launch. Interestingly, it was not Mojang who came up with the idea but Telltale Games, a studio known for creating narrative-focused titles.

The game was an interesting project, and Telltale Games approached Mojang to develop it. Soon, the project was official, and by December 2014, gamers were excited for a new title in the franchise. Telltale Games had done some fantastic work with The Walking Dead games, and people wanted to see what they could do with Minecraft.

Almost a year after the announcement, the game was released to the public on October 13, 2015, and the responses were mixed.

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Minecraft Story Mode: The fate of the game

Story Mode Season 2 (Image via Mojang Studios)

Story Mode was fairly different from the main game, as Telltale Games decided to go with Jesse as the protagonist instead of Steve. The reviews made it clear that many people did not expect an episodic gameplay experience.

The original game's charm lay in its unlimited possibilities. Players could travel anywhere they wanted, mine as many resources as they could, and build impressive structures. However, the story mode was quite restrictive, and many felt that this took away the game's charm.

Despite mixed reviews, a lot of players did find the game to be interesting and fresh. That is the reason why Telltale Games released another season of the game with five more episodes. The last episode of the second season was released on December 19, 2017, almost two years after the first episode was released.

Mojang announcing the end of Story Mode

Unfortunately, despite the game performing decently in sales, Telltale Games was not in a great place financially. The studio shut down in November of 2018 due to financial issues. After throwing in the towel, the studio also pulled down all their games, which included Story Mode, due to licensing issues.

The primary reason for discontinuing the game was the studio shutting down. Had Telltale Games continued to remain operational, we might have seen additional seasons for a few more years.

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Minecraft Story Mode FAQs

Why was Minecraft Story Mode deleted?

Due to Telltale Games' financial issues, the company had to shut down Minecraft: Story Mode in 2018. Consequently, the game was removed from all digital stores due to expired licenses.

Where can I play Minecraft Story Mode?

Unfortunately, Minecraft Story Mode is now unplayable. Fans are unable to access or enjoy this game anymore, as it has been delisted from all digital stores. This means that it is no longer available for purchase or download on any platform.