As we wrote about a few weeks back, Mojang has decided to transform its annual Minecraft ($6.99) convention into MineCon Earth, a brand new format aimed at getting more members of the community involved and at being more inclusive. Today, Mojang revealed more details about the event. This new MineCon Earth will take place at November 18th, with the developers broadcasting a 90-minute show that you can either watch along or with friends in what Mojang is calling Viewing Parties. Mojang announced the locations for some Viewing Parties (they’ll take place at Microsoft Stores across the US) and will be adding more as the day draws nearer. These Parties will be more than just places to watch the stream; they will also host competitions, giveaways, and more, and they will all be free to attend, which is part of how Mojang is hoping to make MineCon a more accessible event than it was in previous years.

And it wouldn’t be a Con without swag, of course. MineCon Earth swag can be preordered from here, and it spans from the new Minecraft-themed Xbox One S’s to tshirts, plushes, MineCon Earth Lanyards, and more. There’s also an online Minecraft costume contest, where players can submit videos of themselves, and the winners will get to appear during the MineCon Earth broadcast. There’s a lot more stuff to come, but it’s already clear how Mojang is turning what used to be a pretty difficult event to attend into something much more accessible, and that’s good for the community, especially given how much of the game’s community are children that can’t just travel across the world to attend an event. What do you think about these changes?