In 2015, Mineplex held a Guinness World Record: 34,434 players online at once, most of them kids jumping between Super Smash Mobs, Block Hunt and Cake Wars. By May 16, 2023, both its Java and Bedrock servers had gone dark, worn down by money problems and a player base that had moved on. The name lived on for a while. Former admin Sam Dawahare bought the brand that year and ran a paid closed beta from May 2025, but for most players Mineplex was a memory.
A new owner and a promise
On March 7, 2026, the official account posted a short line that set off a wave of nostalgia: “Mineplex is now under new ownership.” Dawahare had handed control to a developer known as James, who previously ran a Mineplex-inspired server called Critz.gg, alongside a team of longtime fans. A day later the classic 2017 logo was back. In an announcement video, the new team promised to bring back what worked, avoid the mistakes that killed it and let the community vote on what returned.
Then they did something few big servers would dare. They unbanned 185,995 people from the Mineplex Discord and reset every in-game ban in the network’s history. Fans called it a clean slate. Critics called it an open door for the cheaters and troublemakers who had been banned for good reasons.
Key facts
- Peak: 34,434 concurrent players in 2015, a Guinness World Record.
- Shutdown: May 16, 2023.
- New ownership: announced March 7, 2026. Control passed from Sam Dawahare to James.
- Fresh start: 185,995 Discord bans lifted and all in-game bans reset.
- Relaunch: public on Java Edition on June 12, 2026, at play.mineplex.com.
Opening day
A cinematic launch trailer on May 21 confirmed the date, and on June 12 the servers came back to the public. Queues formed and lobbies filled. Players who had grown up on the server came back to find familiar games such as Super Smash Mobs, Block Hunt, Cake Wars, Bridges, Castle Siege and Dragon Escape, along with modern performance fixes. Minestrike, the network’s round-based shooter, returned as a Java beta on June 18. The new team says Java comes first, with Bedrock support planned. Reports differ on how much crossplay was working at launch.
Early reviews were warm but cautious. Creators praised the polished lobby and updated classics, while asking the obvious question: can a 2013-era minigame network compete with Hypixel and a scene that has moved toward SMPs and lifesteal? The new owners also announced Mineplex Studio, a toolkit meant to let community developers build and host their own games on the network.
Keeping the lights on
By July the team was building the community rather than chasing the launch spike. It revived the network’s newsletter as The Plex, with a Game of the Month, a staff Q&A, a screenshot contest, a hidden-character hunt called WANTED and a monthly event calendar. New games keep arriving, including Restaurant Rush, scheduled for November 14.
What happens next
Mineplex’s first life ended because big minigame networks are expensive to run and players are fickle. This one is betting on nostalgia, a community-first approach and tools that let players build games for it. For the players who learned PvP in Super Smash Mobs, it’s enough that the server is back. Whether it becomes a lasting home again will depend on the months after the reunion.
