Minecoins come to the web

bringing minecoins to the web

I led product design for Minecraft.net’s first Minecoin purchase experience. Players could learn how the currency worked, compare packs, and buy without opening the game.

role
Product design lead

team
Design, product, engineering, art, research, experimentation, and authoring

scope
Minecoin marketing and purchase pages, pack selection, site navigation, balance, and Marketplace connections

timeframe
2024–2025

the challenge

Players could find Marketplace content on the web, but buying Minecoins still sent them into the game. Bringing the currency to Minecraft.net meant explaining both what a pack cost in real money and what those coins could buy.

one place to learn and buy

I helped define a page that explained Minecoins and displayed all five packs with their prices. Players could get to it from Marketplace, check their balance, and continue to purchase in the same place.

Navigation connects Minecoin purchase, Marketplace browsing, and the player’s balance.

clarity before checkout

The page answers the purchase questions first: what Minecoins are for, what each pack costs, and how to buy. Below that, players can explore ways to spend them.

The complete desktop design connects purchase, content discovery, compatibility, and supporting information. Source design includes draft FAQ copy.

explain compatibility before purchase

Platform guidance sits beside the purchase controls. Players can see the difference between Minecoins and PlayStation Tokens before they commit, without having to look through an FAQ.

Compatibility guidance distinguishes Minecoins from PlayStation Tokens.

let players pick their pack

I prototyped two ways to buy coins for an item: an automatically selected pack and a choice of packs. In a small unmoderated study, players preferred to choose. Some wanted a larger pack so they wouldn’t need to top up as often. We kept that choice while showing only packs large enough to cover the item’s price.

The standalone page presents all five packs with coin amounts, prices, bonuses, and a clear selected state. This is a design detail, not the research comparison.

the same choices on smaller screens

Desktop, tablet, and mobile all keep pack comparison and checkout close together. On smaller screens, the cards become a vertical list. A sticky mobile action keeps the selected pack and next step visible while players scroll.

Tablet: a vertical pack list retains prices, bonuses, and compatibility.

Mobile: the same choices reorganized for a narrow screen.

Sticky checkout keeps the selected pack and action visible.

keeping artwork and information separate

I adapted the golden-hole artwork for the web and kept headlines and controls outside the image, so they could be translated and read by assistive technology. I also designed sale and regional-availability states to cover purchases beyond the standard offer.

Artwork provides the atmosphere; headings, pack information, and controls remain separate UI.

Sale selection adds price context beside the checkout action.

The unavailable state replaces checkout with an explicit regional message.

the outcome

+173.7% reported Minecoin order lift

A three-week test added a Minecoin link to Marketplace item pages and reported a 173.7% increase in Minecoin orders.

$2.5M+ in fiscal-year web Minecoin sales following release

what I took forward

Later research still found confusion about pack prices and leftover coins. Giving players a choice was one step. I also needed to check whether they understood what they were buying, alongside measuring conversion.

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