Modder-turned-developer for Mojang Kingbdogz has had his popular mod, Aether Dimension, stolen and placed on the Minecraft Marketplace. The mod has sold at least 33 times for 1,690 Minecraft Coins, or roughly $10.62.
Kingbdogz noted on Twitter that the mod being sold is without the permissions of the original creators, stopping short of calling the content outright theft.
This marks the second time that a prolific mod has been flipped from Java towards Bedrock for profit, the first being the Faithful mod that was similarly stolen. Many within the community have expressed frustration with Microsoft since the Minecraft Marketplace, where skins and mods could be sold for real-world currency for use in Bedrock, was first proposed.
This isn’t a new problem with game modding, however. As mods have indeterminably become commodities rather than hobbies, asset flipping and mod-theft concerns are rampant across many communities, ranging from Skyrim to Minecraft. Some users will take the content of a mod from a free source, and place that mod within a commodified marketplace for a quick profit. The lack of protections afforded to modders continues to damage the scene as a whole.
Community members are hopeful that having Kingbdogz content stolen, while unfortunate, will force the hand of Microsoft to begin curating the Minecraft Marketplace. As of publication, the mod Aether Dimension is still purchasable on the Minecraft Marketplace.
