Minecraft server

A Minecraft server is a player-owned or business-owned multiplayer game server for the 2011 Mojang Studios video game Minecraft. In this context, the term "server" often refers to a network of connected servers, rather than a single machine.^[1] Players can start their own server either by setting one up on a computer using software provided by Mojang, or by using a hosting provider so they can have their server run on dedicated machines with guaranteed uptime.^[2] The largest server is widely accepted to be the minigame server Hypixel.^[3][4]

Minecraft multiplayer servers are controlled by server operators, who have access to server commands such as setting the time of day, teleporting players and setting the world spawn. The server owner (or users that have access to the live server files) can also set up and install plugins to change the mechanics of the server, add commands among other features, and can also set up restrictions concerning which usernames or IP addresses are allowed or disallowed to enter the game server.^[2]

Multiplayer servers have a wide range of activities: with some servers having unique premises, rules, and customs. Player versus player (PvP) combat can be enabled to allow fighting between players. Custom mods and plugins (server side mods) can be used with modified servers to allow actions that are not normally possible in the vanilla form of the game.^[5] There also exists a modification of the server software that can allow crossplay between the Java and Bedrock editions of the game.^[6]

History

Multiplayer was first added to Minecraft on May 31, 2009, during the Classic phase of the game.^[7] The oldest server map is called "Freedonia", on the Minecraft server MinecraftOnline. The server and map were created on August 4, 2010, within the first hour of Minecraft multiplayer being released.^[8]

In 2013, Mojang announced Minecraft Realms, a server hosting service intended to enable players to run server multiplayer games easily and safely without having to set up their own.^[9][10] Unlike a standard server, only invited players can join Realms servers, and these servers do not use IP addresses. Since 2016, Realms have enabled Minecraft to support cross-platform play between Windows 10, iOS, and Android platforms.^[11] It is a subscription-based service,^[12] allowing for either three or eleven players in the realm at once depending on the subscription tier.^[13] While Realms can also be purchased on the Java edition of the game, it does not enable cross platform play with Bedrock players.^[14]

In June 2014, Mojang began enforcing the EULA of Minecraft: Java Edition to prevent servers from selling pay-to-win items in microtransactions, which many players thought unfairly affected gameplay.^[15][16] After this change, servers were only allowed to sell cosmetic items.^[17] Many servers closed shortly afterwards.^[18]

On September 20, 2017, the "Better Together Update" was released for Bedrock codebase-derived editions of the game, which added multiplayer servers, along with six official featured servers: Mineplex, Lifeboat, CubeCraft, Mineville City, Pixel Paradise, and The Hive.^[19]

On July 27, 2022, player chat reporting was added as a part of "The Wild Update", 1.19.1. This allowed players to report abusive chat messages sent by other players directly to Mojang, and players could be banned from playing on multiplayer servers, including realms, as a whole for violating Microsoft's community standards.^[20]

On November 7, 2023, Mojang Studios, in collaboration with GamerSafer, opened the official server list of Minecraft.^[21]

Management

Managing a Minecraft server can be a full-time job for many server owners. Several large servers employ a staff of developers, managers, and artists.^[18] Running a large server can be expensive for its operators,^[22] particularly those that have more than a thousand players. Expenses may include salaries, hardware, bandwidth, and DDoS protection.^[23] Dunbar stated that MCGamer, which has had over 50,000 daily players, has expenses that can be "well into the five-figure marks" per month. As of 2015, expenses of Hypixel, the largest server, are nearly $100,000 per month.^[23] Many servers sell in-game ranks, cosmetics and passes to certain minigames or gamemodes to cover expenses.^[18][15]

Technical aspects

For the Java edition, Mojang release an official jar for server operators to run their servers. Third party server jars also exist; typically utilizing resources more efficiently than the official server software and allowing the use of plugins.^[24] However, Minecraft servers have traditionally been restricted to running most operations on a single core (main thread) with a limited amount of other operations being able to be run asynchronously, making them inefficient for large player counts.^[25]

Notable servers

The most popular Java Edition server is Hypixel, which, released in April 2013, has had over 20 million unique players.^[3][4] In 2021, CubeCraft Games, released in December 2012 on Java Edition and in 2018 on Bedrock Edition,^[26] had over 30 million unique server connections, and a peak player count of more than 57,000 concurrent players.^[27] Other popular servers include MCGamer, released in April 2012, which has over 3.5 million unique players;^[23][when?] Wynncraft, released in April 2013, which has over 1 million unique players;^[28] and Emenbee, released in 2011, which also has over 1 million unique players.^[29][30] As of 2014, servers such as Mineplex, Hypixel, Shotbow and The Hive receive "well over a million unique users every month", according to Polygon.^[16]

List

  Bedrock edition Mojang-featured server

Name	Inception date	Notes	Ref.
2b2t	December 2010	Famously known as the oldest anarchy server in Minecraft; there is no officially set list of rules, allowing the use of cheats and obscene language in-game. Its map is one of the longest-running server maps in the game. It has since updated to Minecraft version 1.20 after previously running on Minecraft version 1.12 for many years.	[31][32][33]
Autcraft	2013	Dedicated to be a safe haven for children with autism.	[34]
Build the Earth	March 21, 2020	Dedicated to recreate the planet Earth in 1:1 scale, including man-made structures.	[35][36][37]
CubeCraft Games	December 21, 2012	Started in 2012 in Java Edition, hosting a handful of minigames such as EggWars (MoneyWars), SkyWars and Lucky Islands. CubeCraft opened on Minecraft Bedrock Edition in 2018 as a Mojang-featured Minecraft server.	[38][39][40][41][26]
Digital Jesuit	November 2019	Created by Catholic priest Robert Ballecer as an organized secular Minecraft server for a less toxic gaming experience.	[42][43][44][45]
Dream SMP	April 24, 2020; Ceased operations on April 9, 2023 (2023-04-09).	A private survival multiplayer server owned by the YouTuber Dream and played on by many prominent Minecraft content creators. It was divided into factions and included heavy roleplay, streamed live on YouTube and Twitch.	[46][47]
HermitCraft	April 2012	HermitCraft (also capitalized as Hermitcraft) is a private, invite-only server and is one of the most well-known. Members are called "hermits" and make content on various platforms, mainly YouTube and Twitch. HermitCraft has been featured by Mojang during various events in the past. The server is also known for working with various charities such as SOS Africa, the Gamers Outreach Foundation, and the Make a Wish Foundation.	[48][49][50][51][52]
The Hive	February 24, 2013	A minigame server created in 2012. Originally a Java server, it opened to Bedrock Edition in 2018 and has since become exclusive to Bedrock after closing its doors to Java players in April 2021 due to declining player-base interest.	[53][54][55]
Hypixel	April 13, 2013	Minecraft's most popular server, founded by Simon Collins-Laflamme and Philippe Touchette, and contains a prominent number of game modes and minigames, many of which are centered around player-versus-player combat.	[15]
MCParks	April 2013	1:1 scale replicas of major theme parks, including Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.	[56][57][58][59][60]
MinecraftOnline	August 4, 2010	Created in August 2010 and opened to the public after two days of testing, MinecraftOnline is the oldest survival server, containing the oldest running server map that has never been reset. Sources conflict on whether MinecraftOnline, Novylen, or nerd.nu should be deemed the oldest Minecraft server.	[61]
Mineplex	January 24, 2013; Suspended operations on May 16, 2023 (2023-05-16).	Formerly the largest Minecraft server, having a variety of minigames for players to experience. In 2015, it held a Guinness World Record for the most popular Minecraft server at the time. It was eventually overtaken as the most popular server by rival Minigame server Hypixel, leading to its eventual closure. There are currently plans to re-release Mineplex in the near future.	[55][62][63][64][65][66][67]
Minehut	November 28, 2014	A Minecraft server network that allows players to make their own servers and advertise it to thousands of daily players. It is owned by GamerSafer, who also created the Official Minecraft Server List.	[68]
nerd.nu	June 2009	One of the two oldest Minecraft servers. The map has been revised at least 26 times, and sources conflict on whether nerd.nu or MinecraftOnline is an older server, creating a major dispute within the community.
The Uncensored Library	March 12, 2020	A server and map released by Reporters Without Borders in an attempt to circumvent censorship in countries lacking freedom of the press. It has received significant press coverage.	[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78]
Wynncraft	April 2013	Server that functions as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.	[79]