Porn in Minecraft knockoff? Report gets copycat removed from app stores

For many gamers in China, Mini World: Block Art is just another knockoff of the popular sandbox video game Minecraft. But the mobile app of the kid-friendly game was recently removed from Chinese app stores for allegedly hiding something its young players would never expect to find: Invites to pornography.

The report from state-owned outlet The Beijing News claims that players were invited to secret chat groups on local messaging platforms WeChat and QQ to exchange porn, which is illegal in China. The report also says that some players, including minors, were encouraged to send nude photos.

Problems for the game started at the beginning of April, when vlogger Xie Chenyuan was the first to report on messages inviting players to group chats. The Bilibili vlogger said he was asked for nudes after he joined posing as a 12-year-old girl.

But the game remained available until this week, when Mini World announced on Tuesday that the game was pulled from all channels for “rectification.” The company also said it started cleaning up content on April 7th.