Editing Minecraft modding (section)

===Microsoft's acquisition===
{{Refimprove section|date=January 2023}}
Concern arose following Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang in mid 2014. Members of the modding community feared that ''Minecraft''{{'}}s new owners would put an end to Mojang's established practice of giving free rein to mod developers.<ref name="BloombergEdu">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/microsoft-turns-a-minecraft-mod-into-an-education-business |title=Microsoft Turns a Minecraft Mod Into an Education Business |last=Brustein |first=Joshua |date=19 January 2016 |website=Bloomberg L.P. |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=13 February 2016 |archive-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520030021/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-19/microsoft-turns-a-minecraft-mod-into-an-education-business |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the concerns, Microsoft did not announce any changes to Mojang's policies, and modding was unaffected.<ref name="BloombergEdu" />

In April 2015, Microsoft announced that it was adding a ''Minecraft'' Mod Developer Pack to [[Microsoft Visual Studio]], granting users of the application creation software an easier way to program ''Minecraft'' mods.<ref name="GeekVisualStudio">{{Cite web |url=http://www.geek.com/microsoft/microsoft-embraces-minecraft-modding-with-new-visual-studio-tools-1621890/ |title=Microsoft embraces Minecraft modding with new Visual Studio tools |last=Mathews |first=Lee |date=1 May 2015 |website=Geek.com |publisher=Ziff Davis Media |access-date=13 February 2016 |archive-date=27 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227215348/https://www.geek.com/microsoft/microsoft-embraces-minecraft-modding-with-new-visual-studio-tools-1621890/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Microsoft released the new pack open source and free of charge, amidst a drive to push towards more open source software.<ref name="GeekVisualStudio" /><ref name="MicrosoftOpenSource">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/08/microsoft-moves-toward-open-source-linux-fills-cloud/ |title=Microsoft Moves Toward Open Source as Linux Fills Its Cloud |last=Metz |first=Cade |date=12 August 2015 |magazine=Wired |publisher=Condé Nast Publishing |access-date=14 February 2016}}</ref>

A server software for 1.12.2 named Magma was released, which allowed using PaperMC plugins and Forge mods together.<ref>{{Citation |title=magmafoundation/Magma |date=4 February 2023 |url=https://github.com/magmafoundation/Magma |publisher=Magma Foundation |access-date=11 February 2023 |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211135829/https://github.com/magmafoundation/Magma |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 4 July 2015 a "[[Windows 10]]" version of ''Minecraft'' was announced. This, unlike the previous versions, was to be programmed in [[C++]].<ref name="ViceModding" /> This announcement sparked concern amongst the game's fanbase that the Java-based versions would end up being phased out entirely, which would hamper the production of mods as [[C++]] is not as "reverse engineerable" as Java is known to be. However, [[Mojang Studios|Mojang]] developer Tommaso Chechi reassured fans on [[Reddit]] that modding was "too important" to ''Minecraft'' for the Java-based versions to be discontinued.<ref name="ViceModding" />

In April 2017, Mojang announced the upcoming creation of the ''Minecraft Marketplace'', where players would be able to sell user-created content for the Windows 10 version of the game (Running on the Minecraft Bedrock codebase).<ref name="PcGamesMarketplace" /> This new digital store would specialize in adventure maps, skins, and texture packs. ''PC World'' noted that this addition would move the Windows 10 version "a bit closer to the moddable worlds familiar to classic players" of the original ''Java Edition''.<ref name="PcWorldMarketplace">{{Cite web |last=Hachman |first=Mark |date=10 April 2017 |title=Minecraft pulls Pocket users closer to Windows with paid DLC and Paint 3D support |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/3188093/gaming/minecraft-pulls-pocket-users-closer-to-windows-with-paid-dlc-and-paint-3d-support.html |access-date=27 April 2017 |website=PCWorld |publisher=IDG |archive-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703185235/http://www.pcworld.com/article/3188093/gaming/minecraft-pulls-pocket-users-closer-to-windows-with-paid-dlc-and-paint-3d-support.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2018, Forge underwent a large rewrite, partially because of the large changes in ''Java Edition'' version 1.13 and to create a new long-term support system for upcoming versions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1.13 Announcement. |url=https://gist.github.com/LexManos/76765455e6938892aed59544a9061321 |access-date=12 January 2022 |website=Gist |language=en |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113093133/https://gist.github.com/LexManos/76765455e6938892aed59544a9061321 |url-status=live }}</ref> This made many modders use 1.12.2 as their primary version.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} The Mod Coder Pack also stopped receiving updates past 1.12.2. 

In December 2018, a new modding toolchain and mod loader called Fabric was released. Fabric aimed to be lightweight and modular. It devised its own set of free mappings to use instead of Forge's Mod Coder Pack mappings and supported Sponge's mixins. Unlike others, Fabric normally worked across different Minecraft versions, including development versions.<ref>{{Citation |title=Fabric Announcement |date=10 December 2018 |url=https://fabricmc.net/2018/12/10/announcement.html |work=Fabric |access-date=23 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

{{As of|2023|08|23}}, 21% of mods hosted on CurseForge have a Fabric version while 63 are Quilt-only.<ref>{{Citation |title=Mods - Minecraft |url=https://legacy.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods |work=CurseForge |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref> Meanwhile, 66.9% of mods hosted on Modrinth have a Fabric version while 21.5% are Quilt-only.<ref>{{Citation |title=Search Mods |url=https://modrinth.com/mods |work=Modrinth |access-date=23 August 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>