Minecraft introduces in-app purchases

Microsoft is opening up a new Minecraft revenue stream. The company today announced it would be adding a Marketplace feature to the Windows 10 and mobile versions of the game that will allow users to buy virtual currency--Minecraft Coins--and spend it on curated user-created content.

"The idea is to give Minecraft creators another way to make a living from the game, allowing them to support themselves in the creation of ever-greater projects, while giving Pocket and Windows 10 players access to a growing catalogue of fun stuff - curated and supplied by us, safely and simply," the company said on the official Minecraft site.

The Marketplace will launch on Android this month, with a selection of offerings from community creators like Noxcrew, BlockWorks, Qwertyuiop The Pie, Blockception, Sphax, Eneija Silverleaf, Imagiverse, Polymaps and Razzleberry Fox. After the app store takes a 30% cut of the revenue earned through purchases, Microsoft said the content creators will get the majority of the money, suggesting content creators will see a little over 35% of the revenue their work brings in, at a minimum.

Microsoft also said players who buy content will be able to access it through either the Windows 10 or Pocket versions of the game by linking it to their Xbox Live accounts. While that's no issue for the Windows 10 version of the game, Microsoft said it is "currently talking with our platform partners about how to make this happen, so stay tuned."