Steven Rondina 
More than a decade deep into its life, there’s a hint that Minecraft may finally make its way to Steam.
Minecraft is an almost peerless success in the realm of gaming. It has sold tens of millions of copies and broken out into the mainstream in a way few games have. Part of that success is owed to the fact that the game is available across so many different platforms, starting out on PC and going everywhere from PlayStation 4 to Nintendo 3DS. It’s an ongoing effort as Mojang continues to bring the game to every piece of hardware that can run it.
It’s not on Steam, though, and it never has been. With the game’s 15th birthday coming up, fans have largely come to accept this. But there might be reason to think that’s changing.
Minecraft may have leaked that it’s coming to Steam
A notification in Minecraft suggests that the game is going to be released on Steam.
A Reddit post created on May 16 showed a screenshot of the Minecoin redemption screen. After entering the code to claim them, a notification stated that doing so requires “Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PC or Steam).” Minecraft has never been available on Steam.
The possibility of the game being added to digital storefronts like Steam or Epic Games may be exciting news. Much of the PC gaming market has been consolidated into Steam. Former competitors like Battle.net and Origin have released many of their cornerstone games on Valve’s service.
If Minecraft comes to Steam, many could have all their games installed and updated through one app and one account.
Why is Minecraft Not on Steam?
It’s unknown why Minecraft isn’t on Steam at this time, but the answer likely comes down to money.
Microsoft owns Mojang and it likely doesn’t see a reason for it to be added to the Steam store. The game is an unparalleled commercial success, and that has come without Steam. It also came without the “tax” that developers pay to Valve for every purchase made through Steam. That wasn’t always the case, though.
Markus “Notch” Persson stated in 2011 that a Steam release might split the player based on who has access to what content. In 2014, Mojang chief creative officer stated Minecraft isn’t on Steam because the studio didn’t want a dual-login process. He stated that Mojang was a small development team and had little human resources to work with. However, this was back in May 2014.
Steam has been significantly overhauled since 2011. In 2014, Microsoft bought Mojang and has significantly increased the studio’s capacity.
Given the state of Mojang and Steam, there’s no question that the game could be there, if both parties came to terms. For now, Mojang has not officially announced that Minecraft will be released on Steam. Eager players should wait until Minecraft’s 15th-anniversary celebration before celebrating, or pick up one of the many excellent Minecraft alternatives.
