Minecraft server
A Minecraft server is a player-owned or business-owned multiplayer game server within the 2011 Mojang video game Minecraft. 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. Minecraft multiplayer servers are guided by server operators, who have access to server commands such as setting the time of day and teleporting players. Operators can also set up restrictions concerning which usernames or IP addresses are allowed or disallowed to enter the server. Multiplayer servers have a wide range of activities, with some servers having their own unique premises, rules, and customs. Player versus player combat can be enabled to allow fighting between players. Many servers have custom plugins that allow actions that are not normally possible in the vanilla form of the game. The largest and most popular server is Hypixel, which has been visited by over 14 million unique players.
History
Multiplayer was first added to Minecraft on May 31, 2009, during the Classic phase of the game. The oldest server map is called "Freedonia", in the Minecraft server MinecraftOnline. The server and map were created on August 4, 2010, within the first hour of Minecraft multiplayer being released.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. Unlike a standard server, only invited players can join Realms servers, and these servers do not use IP addresses. At Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016, it was announced that Realms would enable Minecraft to support cross-platform play between Windows 10, iOS, and Android platforms starting in June 2016, with other platforms releasing over the next two years.
In June 2014, Mojang modified the EULA of the computer versions of the game to prevent servers from selling microtransactions that unfairly affected gameplay, such as pay-to-win items, only allowing servers to sell cosmetic items. Many servers shut down due to this.
On September 20, 2017, the Better Together Update was released for Bedrock codebase-derived editions of the game, which added multiplayer servers, along with five official featured servers: Mineplex, Lifeboat, CubeCraft, Mineville City and The Hive.
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. As of 2014, the Shotbow server employed three full-time and five part-time employees. According to Matt Sundberg, the server's owner, "large server networks are incredibly expensive to run and are very time consuming." According to Chad Dunbar, the founder of MCGamer, "it really costs to run networks above 1000 concurrent players." This includes salaries, hardware, bandwidth, and DDoS protection, and so monthly expenses can cost thousands of dollars. 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, monthly expenses of Hypixel, the largest server, are nearly $100,000 dollars a month. Many servers sell in-game ranks and cosmetics to pay for its expenses.Software
Vanilla server software provided by Mojang is maintained alongside client software. While servers must update to support features provided by new updates, many different kinds of modified server software exist. Modifications typically include optimisations, allowing more players to use a server simultaneously, or for larger portions of the world to be loaded at the same time. Modified software almost always acts as a base for plug-ins, which may be added and removed to customise server functionality. These are typically written in Java for the Java Edition, although JavaScript and PHP is used in some Bedrock Edition software. As the vanilla software for Bedrock is made compatible with only Ubuntu and Windows, modifications may allow for added compatability. Notable plug-in software include Bukkit, Spigot, Paper and Sponge for Java and Pocketmine-MP,, Altay and Jukebox for Bedrock.Vanilla and modified servers alike communicate with the client using a consistent protocol, but may have vastly different internal mechanisms. Certain server software can allow for servers to be linked, allowing players to dynamically cross worlds without "signing out"; these include BungeeCord and Waterfall in Java and WaterDog and Nemisys for Bedrock. In a similar vein, due to close feature parity between up-to-date editions of the game, certain Java servers, such as DragonProxy, ProtocolSupport and Geyser may also communicate with both protocols, allowing Bedrock players to join.
Popularity
The most popular Java Edition server is Hypixel, which, released in April 2013, has had over 14 million unique players, around half of all active players of the Java Edition itself. Other popular servers include MCGamer, released in April 2012, which has over 3.5 million unique players; Wynncraft, released in April 2013, which has over 1 million unique players; and Emenbee, released in 2011, which also has over 1 million unique players. As of 2014, servers such as Mineplex, Hypixel, Shotbow and HiveMC receive "well over a million unique users every month", according to Polygon.Notable servers
2b2t
2b2t, founded in late 2010, is one of the oldest running servers, whose map is also one of the longest-running unaltered server maps in the game. The server is an anarchy server, which, in the context of Minecraft, is understood simply as a server with "scarce or no server-wide rules."Hypixel
Hypixel, Minecraft most popular server, was founded in April 2013 by Simon Collins-Laflamme and Philippe Touchette.MinecraftOnline
MinecraftOnline is the oldest running survival multiplayer Minecraft server, created by Eugene Hopkinson on August 4, 2010, and opened to the public after 2 days of testing. The world map has never been reset, making it the oldest running server map in the game.Mineplex
Mineplex was founded on January 24, 2013, and is one of five servers officially partnered with Mojang. The Dallas Mavericks partnered with the server in 2016 to create a minigame, Dallas Mavericks World, on the server, which released in the summer of 2016.The Uncensored Library
The Uncensored Library is a Minecraft server and map released in 2020 by Reporters Without Borders and is an attempt to circumvent censorship in countries lacking freedom of the press.It has been featured in various media outlets such as the BBC, DW News, CNBC, CNN, Tech Crunch, The Verge, Gizmodo, Engadget, Mashable, PC Gamer, and others.