Minecraft Realms, the subscription-based service allowing players to create and join private servers, has encountered significant connectivity issues since August 13th. These troubles emerged shortly after the release of Minecraft update 1.21.20, which included enhancements to Realms invite links and various bug fixes. However, rather than improving the service, the update seems to have triggered prolonged loading times, connection errors, and persistent outages affecting users across all platforms.
Microsoft’s Mojang, the developer behind Minecraft, acknowledged the issue promptly. On August 15th, the Realms team tweeted that they were working tirelessly to restore service. Despite these efforts, the problems persisted. By August 17th, Mojang reported that only about 70% of players had regained access to their Realms.
The developer explained that they had to block traffic to Realms on version 1.21.20 across all platforms, except for Nintendo Switch, until a hotfix could be implemented. Mojang’s attempts to resolve the issue have yielded mixed results. While some players have reported improvements, many are still experiencing difficulties.
As of August 19th, reports of connectivity issues continue to surface, with Downdetector, a platform tracking online service outages, showing a significant spike in complaints related to Minecraft Realms. This prolonged disruption has sparked widespread frustration within the Minecraft community. Many fans have taken to social media to express their displeasure, questioning the reliability of a paid service that has been down for nearly a week.
This situation highlights the challenges of maintaining a large online service and the potential impact of unexpected updates. Mojang is actively working to resolve the issues and restore full functionality to Minecraft Realms. However, the timeline for a complete fix remains unclear, leaving many players in a state of frustration and uncertainty.
