Since 2016, Mojang has been hosting an annual mob vote that lets players choose the next creature it adds to Minecraft. In recent years, though, players have grown increasingly unhappy with the tradition, and this year they've taken to "unionizing" to express their disappointment.
Last Thursday, the team behind Minecraft revealed 2023's mob vote and its three options: a crab that drops claws that can boost a player's reach when placing blocks, an armadillo that drops scutes which can be crafted into wolf armor, and a penguin that boosts the speed of nearby boats. However, quite a few players have become disillusioned with what they perceive to be lost content.
Now, fans on TikTok are creating and spreading war propaganda-inspired posters to encourage other players to "unionize" and boycott the mob vote. Many of these posters have adopted communist terminology, with some players calling others "comrades," while others have praised modders for bringing Mojang's "scrapped" mobs into the game.
currently obsessed with minecraft union propaganda on tik tok as people unionize to end the mob vote pic.twitter.com/aQz3iowf2I
— Mufflekip but spooky🎃 (@mufflekip) October 7, 2023
Someone made a slideshow in the style of war propaganda against the Minecraft mob
— Manzaka_ (@Manzaka_) October 7, 2023
Thank you for the best video I’ve seen all week 😭#MinecraftMobVote #MinecraftLive #MobVote2023 #StopTheMobVote pic.twitter.com/FEBAfb1oXH
These efforts have resulted in a particularly large Change.org petition. At the time of writing this, the petition has over 220,000 signatures, and it's seen a steady increase over the past day.
"The Mob Vote generates engagement by tearing the community apart, leaving fantastic ideas on the cutting room floor, and teasing content that will never be seen in the game," the petition states. "That, mixed with the fact that Mojang somehow releases less content WITH Microsoft's backing than they did without, means players see minimal content to the game they love, and watch as possibly the one thing to get them to play again is ripped from them."
Unless the anti-mob vote camp succeeds, the vote is slated to go live on October 13, and the results will be announced during Minecraft Live two days later. It's worth noting that the discarded designs will only be baseline concepts, with only the winner entering full development, so little will be lost beyond the basic ideas presented in the poll.
We gave Minecraft a 9 in our 2011 review, calling it "an open world, a blank page just daring you to jump in and do with it what you will." The game has received quite a few expansions since then, though, with its most recent major update adding mobs and more features for player customization. It's also hosted an impressive number of dedicated players, including this fan who has been building all of Breath of the Wild in Minecraft.
Update: This story has been edited to clarify the state of the content presented in the mob vote.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.