Minecraft axes support for Apple TV because of low playerbase

Roughly two years since Microsoft and Apple revealed that Minecraft was headed to Apple TV, the game is now dropping support for the platform. In a splash page that recently began surfacing in the game on Apple TV, Microsoft alerted users that it had ceased updates and support for the platform as of September 24 (via Engadget).

From the alert:

Effective from Monday, 24 September, the Apple TV version of Minecraft will no longer be updated or supported. We're grateful to the Apple TV community for their support, but we need to reallocate resources to the platforms that our players use the most.

In other words, Minecraft on Apple TV hadn't attracted enough players to continue on.

While the game will no longer receive updates on Apple TV, those who have purchased the game will be able to continue playing. However, in recognition that the experience isn't "in-line" with Minecraft on other platforms, Microsoft says it will issue full refunds for purchases made within the last 90 days.

It's an interesting move considering Minecraft has a presence on every console and mobile platform out there at this point. However, without a significant base of players frequently engaging with the game, the reality is that it likely wasn't worth the resources Microsoft was putting in to maintain yet another version of the otherwise popular title.