Last Updated on January 25, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco
Minecraft could possibly be the most popular video game out there. It is undoubtedly one of the top-selling video games of all time, out-selling the number two (Grand Theft Auto V) in the late 2010s and early 2020s. But as great as Minecraft is, it isn’t all good. There are some real disadvantages and drawbacks to the game. Let’s look at 15 of these disadvantages.
Some of Minecraft’s disadvantages are internal, relating mainly to the player’s mental well-being and financial health. This includes factors like how addictive Minecraft is and how easily a player can get obsessed with it. But there are also external threats, like scammers on Minecraft servers.
Internal Disadvantages And Drawbacks Of Minecraft
Let’s start off by looking at the internal disadvantages and threats as they relate to the player’s mental, emotional, and financial health.
1. Minecraft Is Not Free To Play, And Will Cost You Money
Though most games are not free to play, parents are often uncertain if what they are paying for is suitable and safe enough for their children to play. Paying for a game can be a disadvantage for households that are unsure if Minecraft is safe for children.
Minecraft is safe for children from age 8, but there is another drawback to this since there are online servers that are not necessarily the safest places for your child to be. But more on this point later.
2. Minecraft’s Growing Popularity Causes Its Price To Increase
Minecraft is a trendy game for all ages, and with the video game being so popular, its price increases often. This can be a drawback for some Minecraft players or for the parents who don’t necessarily see the point of buying the game for their children.
3. Minecraft Could Make You Lose Track Of Time
One of the most significant disadvantages to Minecraft, which isn’t necessarily the game’s fault, is that children and adult players of Minecraft alike tend to lose track of time. It is much too easy to get lost in the dynamics of Minecraft.
Minecraft is created as a sandbox, which means you have an open-world experience in the game with endless building and mining possibilities. You can literally play Minecraft for hours, and you wouldn’t even notice the time passing by. So if you have a problem managing your time, then yes, this is definitely a drawback.
4. Minecraft Is Addictive, As Are Most Video Games
Minecraft is an enjoyable game to play, and if players are not careful and watch out for addiction patterns, then before you know it, you are sucked into the sandbox that is Minecraft. Minecraft can become your world to the point where the only thing you want to do all day is play Minecraft.
5. People Can Become Obsessed With Minecraft
Minecraft can become an obsession, and this is very close to what we’ve seen about how Minecraft can be addictive if you’re not careful. The same can be said about players who have an obsession with Minecraft. It can become their whole world. It is so easy to forget about anything and everything else once Minecraft has become your obsession or addiction.
6. Playing Minecraft Often Leads To Rage Quitting
This factor isn’t the video game’s fault, but it can be a drawback. When things don’t go our way, we tend to get angry and (sometimes) destructive in the process. This can lead to rage quitting, which often involves throwing, kicking, or punching expensive gaming devices, controllers, computers, or TV screens. You have to control your anger if you want to safely play any game, including Minecraft.
7. Minecraft Could Start Interfering With Education
There are countless cases where Minecraft is used in classrooms, where the game causes a distraction while the educator is explaining other work. Kids would rather play a game than concentrate on their work, and if there’s a computer with Minecraft, the teacher can be in for a real struggle to keep their attention.
External Disadvantages And Drawbacks Of Minecraft
You should be aware of a few external threats when purchasing and playing Minecraft. These threats are very real, and you should take care to avoid them.
8. Minecraft Has Hidden Expenses And Micro-Transactions
After buying Minecraft, you never have to pay another cent to play it; you already have the entire game at your fingertips. But other expenses might pop up, especially if children are allowed to play without supervision. Minecraft has a marketplace that sells add-ons and skins, and some Minecraft servers also cost money. You should be fully aware of this before letting your kids play.
9. Some Minecraft Servers Have Their Own Shopfronts
Free Minecraft servers have to make their money somehow, and one of the ways they do that is by selling things like ranks or equipment. Parental supervision and control are even more critical if you are going to let your child play on online servers. Don’t give them your credit card details, and ensure that you have some parental control feature on their Microsoft account to control payments.
10. Some Minecraft Servers Are Unsafe For Children
While most Minecraft servers try to cater to players of all age groups, some Minecraft servers aren’t child-friendly at all. For example, Anarchy servers have an “anything goes” policy. People there tend to be toxic and generally do whatever they want. Children should not play on these kinds of servers.
11. Cyberbullying Is Rampant On Some Minecraft Servers
Cyberbullying is a real disadvantage to Minecraft and online games in general. When you play online, you open yourself up to different factors that you can’t always predict or control. If players get angry for whatever reason, they can get rude, and some of them can turn into violent and aggressive bullies.
The internet provides a perceived layer of anonymity and avoids face-to-face confrontation. This often brings the worst out of people. They will easily get rude and start swearing and bullying younger players. We definitely don’t want our children to be exposed to this, so be sure only to let your child play online once they are ready and know how to fend for themselves.
12. Online Scammers Are Relatively Common On Minecraft Servers
Most of us know that there are scammers and thieves everywhere. We know this because most of us have already seen our fair share of them on social media and other platforms before. Now there are scammers on some Minecraft servers as well. They will try to get players to hand over credit card details or personal information or even to make payments directly into their accounts.
13. Catfishing Often Happens On Minecraft Servers
Catfishing is another threat that can be pretty rampant on some Minecraft servers. This happens when another player will pretend to be someone they are not in order to manipulate players into doing something they wouldn’t normally do. For example, that 16-year-old girl on the server that your 14-year-old son is flirting with could be a 38-year-old male scammer in a basement somewhere.
14. Minecraft’s Pixelated Look Is Deceptive
Minecraft looks pixelated. It seems low-quality. This makes many people believe that they don’t need a powerful device in order to play it. In this case, the looks are utterly deceiving. Yes, Minecraft uses building blocks and pixels to generate the world, but it takes up a lot of CPU, GPU, and memory power.
Remember that Minecraft is a sandbox game, so it is enormous. It is a video game that will use up your device’s resources before you can say “PC master race.”
15. The Bane Of All Minecraft Players: Creepers
If you ask Minecraft players what Minecraft’s biggest disadvantage is, most would immediately say “Creepers.” These irritating green blobs sneak up on you and instantly destroy all of the beautiful work you spent the last 700 hours doing with one bout of explosive flatulence. That’s why Creepers are seen by all Minecraft players worldwide as the number one drawback of Minecraft.
All in All
So yes, there are disadvantages and drawbacks to Minecraft, but just as there are bad things in the world, there are also good things. Minecraft isn’t the problem in itself. We as intelligent human beings can be attentive and find solutions to work with our children and ourselves to find better ways of turning these disadvantages into advantages.
This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who enjoy sharing their knowledge about their favorite games with others!
JC Franco
JC Franco serves as a New York-based editor for Gamesver. His interest for board games centers around chess, a pursuit he began in elementary school at the age of 9. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Mercyhurst University, JC brings a blend of business acumen and creative insight to his role. Beyond his editorial endeavors, he is a certified USPTA professional, imparting his knowledge in tennis to enthusiasts across the New York City Metropolitan area.