It wasn't the smoothest weekend ever for Minecraft studio Mojang, which rolled out the largest update in the game's history and very shortly thereafter discovered that it had turned the game's AI-controlled villagers into hyperactive, hyper-horny, and completely out-of-control jerks. But there's a spot of good news amidst all of that, too.
In March, Mojang donated $10,000 to charity: water, a non-profit organization that works to make safe drinking water accessible in developing countries. Last week, it pledged to bounce that donation to $100,000, once a new map and skin pack called The Travelling Trader had been downloaded 100,000 times.
"663 million people currently lack access to clean water (that’s almost 1 in 10 people), which makes the great work of charity: water absolutely essential. They want to bring clean water to as many people as possible, and we want to help them more," Mojang wrote. "Charity: water estimates that the number of people impacted by a $100,000 donation is over 3,300. So all you have to do is download a great map and skin pack, and you’ll help us help a fantastic cause!"
The pack was made by "excellent content creators" Jigarbov Productions, and it's free, which made achieving the goal almost inevitable. Even so, the quickness with which it happened is pretty impressive:
You guys are just amazing! It didn’t even take you one day to make ‘The Travelling Trader’ reach 100,000 downloads. As promised, we will donate $90,000 to @charitywater. Great work everybody!April 27, 2019
Microsoft announced today that it will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of Minecraft's release in May. Original creator Marcus "Notch" Persson will not be taking part. If you're looking to further customize your Minecraft experience, check out our best Minecraft seeds and best Minecraft mods.
