Microsoft-owned game developer Mojang has updated its commercial usage guidelines to ban advertisers from the world of Minecraft, its enormously popular construction game.

This time last year, Minecraft passed 70m sales, around half of which were from mobile. Understandably, advertisers have taken to the platform, creating mods or servers that promote their products. Its an ingenious form of advertising, where the games blocks might be used to build a replica of a restaurant or a films setting. The new rules also include Minecraft assets being used in videos to sell unrelated products.

“We want to empower our community to make money from their creativity, but we’re not happy when the selling of an unrelated product becomes the purpose of a Minecraft mod or server,” said Mojan director of creative communications Owen Hill.

There are exceptions to this, however. Players can still build maps that celebrate a brand, entertainment release or even politician as long as its off their own back and they havent been paid to do so. Video footage of the game that players have recorded themselves can still be monetised on the likes of YouTube or livestreaming site Twitch, as long as the footage itself isnt promoting any products.

The rules seem to be slightly different from advertisers which have paid Mojang to sponsor a server, who may still “provide in-game advertising opportunities, sponsorships, or product placement for 3rd parties if they dont degrade or interfere with gameplay or give a user an unfair gameplay advantage over anyone else on the server”, according to the updated commercial guidelines. The problem, it seems, isnt so much the existence ads in Minecrafts world as ones that the developer doesnt see any money for.