One of Bedrock's longest running competitive servers with over 6 million players will close forever on June 28 citing unsustainable technical demands and zero visibility without Mojang's official Featured status. The community has already launched a petition begging Microsoft to intervene.
The news landed hard on April 30. NetherGames one of the longest running independent Bedrock servers is done. On June 28 2026 the servers go dark for good after ten years six million plus registered players and a reputation built on competitive Factions Skyblock and specialized PvP modes that never quite got replicated by the official partners.
The Real Reason It Died
The closure announcement is blunt about the cause. Running a large Bedrock server outside the Featured program means constant technical fights against updates exploits and infrastructure costs with almost no organic discovery. Visibility stays low player counts erode and eventually it becomes unsustainable. This is not the first community server to reach this point but few lasted this long.
NetherGames is not disappearing without some legacy. They are open sourcing as many of their custom games as possible so players and other hosts can run matches events and the core experiences themselves. A guest book is live in the lobby for final messages that will be archived on the site. More farewell events are coming and Titan subscribers with time left past the shutdown date will be refunded.
What They Built
- Operated continuously since 2016
- More than 6 million registered accounts
- Strong reputation in competitive Factions and unique PvP
- Modes and playstyles not fully covered by current Featured Servers
- Final season resets rolling out this week for Factions and Skyblock
The response has been swift. A detailed post on Minecraft Feedback urges Mojang and Microsoft to reopen talks grant featured status and preserve the community rather than let another pillar of Bedrock multiplayer disappear. One comment simply reads keep nether games. YouTube creators have already begun covering the end of an era.
Whether the petition changes anything is doubtful. Featured status is limited and the program has clear favorites. But the story highlights a recurring tension in the multiplayer scene. Community driven servers that once defined Bedrock eras are increasingly forced to either join the official club or eventually fold. This one fought longer than most.
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