It is with deep sadness that the team at CastawayMC announce the shutdown of our much-loved network. Monday July 14th, 2025 will be the final day for Castaway Islands. After this day, the CastawayMC game servers will turn off for the very last time and players will no-longer be able to connect.
To all those who played Castaway over the years, we thank you immensely for the contributions to your amazing community. We appreciate every single one of you, because without you, Castaway wouldn't be what it is today.
Castaway's community was like no other. You, the community, made it something more; something everyone will remember. We might remember Castaway differently, but we’ll all feel the same nostalgia.
The Unfinished Gamemode
The idea of 3.0 came about during the COVID-19 pandemic. After seeing the server's second wind in 2020, the team wanted to perpetuate the passion we saw for Castaway into the future. Since then, however, everything began reopening. Working-from-home was less prevalent. Having a cheeky little Minecraft sesh when you had an assessment due was no longer a possibility.
Work on 3.0 continued post-pandemic, but with less and less people playing regularly, we lost vision of what we were working towards. Developers were quickly burnt out, regulars stopped playing, and our backlog was piling up the more we worked.
Every single person that worked on 3.0 had a vision for what they wanted to see. We had very high ambitions that we would create something that you guys would love and adore for the heck of it. We earned nothing. Working on the new gamemode was purely voluntary. Out of passion. Out of love. We loved our creation and we loved our community, but we were never able to spend enough time putting the two together.
3.0 was more than just a version number, it was a full reimagination. We wanted to bring Castaway into the new era of Minecraft, with:
- A fully reworked survival experience
- Player-run economies with deeper, complex systems
- A new take on roles, crews, and exploration
- Lore and quests that actually meant something
- Dozens of small touches to make the server feel alive
We never reached the finish line, but we want to share some of the ideas and builds we were proudest of (there are some very good ones!). From today onwards, we’ll be posting some screenshots and docs which we created during the development of 3.0. It might not be a finished gamemode but we hope it still sparks joy.
The Legal Stuff
For obvious reasons, our online webstore is no-longer accepting payments. The request for a return or refund for any previous donations via the webstore cannot be honored. If you have keepsakes in-game, hop online and take a screenshot before it's too late.
When it comes to the Discord:
- Before the shutdown date — New members without a linked account and returning members with a linked account can join the Discord, so long as unlinked members link their account in-game.
- At the shutdown date — Account linking is permanently disabled once the server goes offline.
-
After the shutdown date — Only members with linked
accounts will be able to join the Castaway Discord. Check if your
account is linked by using
sb!linkin the Discord.
If your account was linked prior to shutdown, and remains linked, you can join/leave the Castaway Discord freely.
Moving On
Whether you were a Mythic or an OG, part of a crew or a solo sailor, we would love to see how much fun you had in the community. Send us your favorite screenshots in the Discord and share some fun memories from your time on CastawayMC.
As we say goodbye, and as Castaway becomes a memory, we urge you to spread kindness. Wherever you go, remember the human.
Bon voyage ❤️