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Skyblock

Skyblock is a community-made Minecraft game mode, revolving around constructing a world from an almost empty world with minimal resources, typically starting off with an island, a chest, and a single tree.

In typical skyblock, the player spawns on a small floating island made of dirt and grass, which contains only a tree for the player to use for wood and a chest containing at least the resources for a cobblestone generator (water/ice and lava), and some seeds to grow food. The challenge is to either sustain oneself using these resources, or, in some variants of the game mode, to venture out onto further islands that may contain the resources necessary to enter the Nether and the End to properly complete the game.

The game mode was created by Minecraft Forum member Noobcrew and was released in 2011.[1] It has gone on to become a prolific genre of content with YouTubers such as CaptainSparklez and Technoblade,[2][3] with many different iterations being created by fans.

"Sky block" redirects here. For the Hypixel SkyBlock Wiki, see hsw:Hypixel SkyBlock Wiki. For the April Fools' block, see Sky (block).
This page only covers Skyblock's official connection to the Minecraft franchise.
 
For more general information about Skyblock, please refer to other websites, such as Wikipedia.
The classic Skyblock starter island
There is a related tutorial page for this topic!
 

Skyblock is a community-made Minecraft game mode, revolving around constructing a world from an almost empty world with minimal resources, typically starting off with an island, a chest, and a single tree.

Gameplay

In typical skyblock, the player spawns on a small floating island made of dirt and grass, which contains only a tree for the player to use for wood and a chest containing at least the resources for a cobblestone generator (water/ice and lava), and some seeds to grow food. The challenge is to either sustain oneself using these resources, or, in some variants of the game mode, to venture out onto further islands that may contain the resources necessary to enter the Nether and the End to properly complete the game.

Background

The game mode was created by Minecraft Forum member Noobcrew and was released in 2011.[1] It has gone on to become a prolific genre of content with YouTubers such as CaptainSparklez and Technoblade,[2][3] with many different iterations being created by fans.

Although unofficial to Mojang Studios, several Skyblock maps and add-ons have also been released through Realms,[4][5][6][7] and Marketplace Pass.[8][9][10] They are a frequent genre on the Marketplace platform, one such map even being considered a fan favorite and promoted during the fifth anniversary.[11]

In the Minecraft franchise

Maps

As a promotion to various MINECON events, the skyblock map Abstraction: Minecon Earth was released by . The world revolves around a skyblock challenge set on various cubic globes representing various biomes, referencing the logo for MINECON Earth 2018.

Content bundles

Main article: Content bundles

Released in 2020, the Skyblock Pack is a content bundle of Marketplace releases. Included in the bundle are the worlds Original Skyblock, Infinity Skyblock, Skyblock HD Skin Pack, the character creator item SkyBlock Cloud Hoodie, and the Elytra emote.[12] This pack was promoted during the Start a New Minecraft Story campaign,[13] appearing in its trailer.

Skyblock content would also go on to be featured in bundles not themed to it specifically. In 2022, Advanced Skyblock Mashup was featured in the Dragon’s Pack.[14][15] In 2023, Custom Hearts Skyblock was featured in the .[16]

Story Mode

In the Minecraft: Story Mode episode Order Up!, a parallel Overworld serves as an in-universe interpretation of the minigame, Sky City, being constructed using limited materials across from a floating island.[17] The asset filenames for generic Sky City citizens contain the term "Skyblock".[18]

April Fools' joke

An April Fools' snapshot 20w14∞ included a dimension similar to Skyblock called "content".

Original Skyblock map

For older versions of the Skyblock map, see Skyblock/Blueprints.

The original Skyblock map was released by Noobcrew in 2011.[1] The following is the blueprint of its last version, v2.1.

Main Island

ChestInvicon Lava Bucket.png: Inventory sprite for Lava Bucket in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Lava Bucket with description: Lava BucketInvicon Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Ice with description: Ice
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Sand Island

ChestInvicon Obsidian.png: Inventory sprite for Obsidian in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Obsidian with description: Obsidian10Invicon Melon Slice.png: Inventory sprite for Melon Slice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Melon Slice with description: Melon SliceInvicon Pumpkin Seeds.png: Inventory sprite for Pumpkin Seeds in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Pumpkin Seeds with description: Pumpkin Seeds
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Nether Island

ChestInvicon Birch Sapling.png: Inventory sprite for Birch Sapling in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Birch Sapling with description: Birch SaplingInvicon Sugar Cane.png: Inventory sprite for Sugar Cane in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Sugar Cane with description: Sugar CaneInvicon Ice.png: Inventory sprite for Ice in Minecraft as shown in-game linking to Ice with description: Ice
Layer 1-2
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Trademark dispute

The creator known as Noobcrew, acting through their registered company Mineverse LLC, filed a trademark application for the name "Skyblock" to the USPTO on November 20, 2019 (No. 88699388).[19] On January 1, 2021, several Marketplace partners jointly opposed the registration before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.[20] On April 12, 2021, Microsoft separately filed an opposition as well;[21] the two cases were then consolidated on March 25, 2024.[22] The opposers alleged that the trademark had been abandoned by the applicant due to failure to enforce it, that the name "Skyblock" had become generic, and that it was a mere description of a floating island.

On May 11, 2026, the Board made its final decision on the matter in favor of the opposers.[23] The Board found that the word "Skyblock" is merely descriptive of "virtual worlds/maps that feature islands comprised of blocks in the sky" and has not acquired distinctiveness. Therefore, the name "Skyblock" remains not trademarked and can be used freely by anyone. The following day, Noobcrew removed all downloads of the original Skyblock map in protest.[24]

References

  1. a b "[Surv] Skyblock" by NoobcrewMinecraft Forum, September 4, 2011.
  2. "Minecraft: SkyBlock Survival Ep. 1 - Cobblestone Generator" – CaptainSparklez on YouTube, October 2, 2011
  3. "I Became the Mayor of Skyblock" – Technoblade on YouTube, May 26, 2021
  4. "Realms Plus: June" by Cristina AndercaMinecraft.net, June 10, 2020.
  5. "Realms Plus: September" by Per LandinMinecraft.net, September 9, 2020.
  6. "REALMS PLUS: FEBRUARY" by – Minecraft.net, February 2, 2021.
  7. "Realms Plus: January" by Sophie AustinMinecraft.net, January 13, 2023.
  8. "Marketplace Content: April 2025" by – Minecraft.net, April 1, 2025.
  9. "Marketplace Content: October 2025" by – Minecraft.net, October 8, 2025.
  10. "Marketplace Content: November 2025" by – Minecraft.net, November 5, 2025.
  11. "Marketplace Fan Favorites: Year 3" by Sofia DankisMinecraft.net, June 8, 2022.
  12. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/minecraft-skyblock-pack/9n3l88b5pt8s
  13. "A New Chapter Begins" by Sophie AustinMinecraft.net, January 12, 2023.
  14. https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/dragons-pack/9n3cbx6ml9sm
  15. "Snag the Marketplace Content Packs" by StaffMinecraft.net, April 21, 2022.
  16. https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/hearts-pack/9N3FK2BT5KXQ
  17. "In MSM:S1, in episode 6, how was the idea of..." – Stirpicus, June 23, 2022, Tumblr
  18. Minecraft Story Mode - A Telltale Game Series / Archives / MCSM_pc_Minecraft105_txmesh.ttarch2 / skM1_genericMaleSkyblockA.d3dtx
  19. https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88699388&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
  20. https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91266862&pty=OPP&eno=1
  21. https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91268696&pty=OPP&eno=1
  22. https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91266862&pty=OPP&eno=41
  23. https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=91266862&pty=OPP&eno=97
  24. "Skyblock vs. Microsoft: Final Legal Outcome | Skyblock" by Noobcrew – skyblock.net. "I have decided to effectively remove all original downloadable versions of Skyblock."