PlayerLands is a new e-commerce platform that’s just launched, which lets owners of PC servers in games like Minecraft sell or receive donations for in-game items they’ve created. The platform uses an “easy-to-install plugin” and gives server owners a set of tools that include various features aimed towards letting both hobbyists and those running big, highly populated private worlds make money from their virtual wares.
The way PlayerLands works is by helping server owners “launch a store for Minecraft or any other PC game server”, as explained on its website. The platform has pre-integrated payment functionality with “hundreds of payment partners” (such as PayPal, Visa, and ApplePay), a set-up tool that lets server owners create their own custom store themes, options to run sales and discounts, and “detailed reporting” on how your store’s doing.
So far, PlayerLands already has an API up-and-running for Minecraft, but the platform’s website says Rust, CS:GO, and Hytale launches are also “coming soon”. There are three pricing options listed: free, pro, and business, which of each include a number of different features.
“We want server gaming to be for everyone,” PlayerLands CEO and co-founder Alex Booth tells us. “Up to now it’s been viewed as a niche hobby for the hardcore, which requires a degree of technical knowledge that not everybody feels comfortable with. That’s no longer true. Developments in hosting mean you can now spin up a server in the majority of online games in a few clicks, and setting up a PlayerLands store takes minutes. We want to help democratise server gaming so that any player can experience it.
Psst. Minecraft builders…
Do you own a #Minecraft server and familiar with using @Spigot_MC?
Come join us for free and see how we can set up shops and donations on your Minecraft server in minutes and help you earn from the game you love.
JOIN: https://t.co/Mc1pp6tjIq pic.twitter.com/Jt50iikxrk
— PlayerLands (@PlayerLands) September 5, 2020
“It’s also an opportunity for server owners with a steady community to turn their hobby into a business,” Booth says. “With continuing uncertainty in the job market, and many companies making people redundant, a great many players dream of making a living from games. We want to help them make that a reality. Our message is simple – anyone can do it.”
We also asked Booth about how he saw he saw PlayerLands sitting as an option for players alongside websites that have free in-game items and mods for people to download. “Free items and mods are great, and we strongly support players’ freedom to make stuff and give it to their fellow players,” he tells us. “The sites that offer those items support themselves and pay their costs in various ways, but offering items that are free at point of use is here to stay.
“The only overlap with PlayerLands is that it’s possible to offer items in our stores that are free of charge, however experience says that the majority of server owners use the stores to make money, whether that’s to break even with donations, or run a for-profit business.”
You can head to PlayerLands’ website here if you’re keen to find out more about the platform now that it’s live. We also have some Minecraft enchantments, Minecraft brewing, and Minecraft farm ideas guides if you’re a fan of the block builder and on the lookout for some tips.