Case studies

We help organisations turn their educational mission into playable experiences inside Minecraft. That can mean a fully custom Minecraft Education world, an interactive exhibit, a training simulation, or a public Minecraft Marketplace release. We have been doing this since 2013, working with partners like BBC, NASA, UNESCO, Microsoft, and the Vatican. Our work has reached over 60 million students worldwide.

We work with mission-driven organisations that have something important to teach and want to reach young audiences in the place where they already are. That includes museums, broadcasters, NGOs and foundations, government and inter-governmental bodies, and large corporates with education or training goals. If your audience includes children, teenagers, or learners — and your topic deserves more than a brochure — we are probably a good fit.

Minecraft is the best-selling video game in history, and it is already used in over 100 countries as a learning tool. Minecraft Education in particular is built for schools, with safety, classroom controls, and curriculum-ready features included. Players do not just watch — they read, build, solve problems, and collaborate, which means the time spent in the experience is active learning rather than passive viewing. We have used this format for ocean conservation, heritage restoration, space science, and professional training. The platform is taken seriously because the outcomes are real.

Our partners include BBC Earth, NASA, UNESCO-IOC and Voice of the Ocean, the Vatican / Fabbrica di San Pietro, Microsoft, Paramount, the Prinsparet Foundation, the World Bank, John Deere, EY, and the Department of Education of Victoria. We also work with smaller institutions and foundations where the mission matters more than the brand size.

First, we are educators and storytellers as much as builders — every project starts with a learning goal and a narrative. Second, we are deeply integrated with Minecraft Education and the wider Microsoft ecosystem, which means our worlds are properly distributed, supported, and trusted by schools. Third, we work with ethical, fair-wage talent, which keeps quality high and keeps us honest with our partners. We have been doing this since 2013, longer than most studios in this space have existed.

A project usually moves through four stages. Discovery — we sit down with you to understand the mission, the audience, and the learning goals. Concept — we propose a creative direction, gameplay mechanics, and a story, and you sign off before any building starts. Production — we build, test, and iterate in cycles, sharing playable versions along the way so you stay in control of the result. Launch — we handle Minecraft Education submission, localisation in up to 29 languages, marketing assets, and post-launch support. You get a single point of contact at Shapescape from kickoff to launch.

Most full custom projects take between six and nine months from kickoff to launch. Smaller projects (a single themed activity, a conference demo, an update to an existing world) can be delivered in four to six weeks. Larger or multi-world projects (multi-language rollouts, full curriculum series) can run nine to twelve months. We will give you a realistic timeline as part of the proposal, and we build in checkpoints so you always know where things stand.

Every project is quoted individually based on scope, timeline, and the level of partner support needed. We are happy to put together a quick estimate after a first call.

Yes, absolutely — and we often recommend it. A pilot can be a single mini-experience, a proof-of-concept world or a conference demo. It lets you test the format with your audience, get internal buy-in, and shape the bigger project with real data.

Yes. Every project is built around your goals from the ground up — the visual style, characters, environments, language, learning outcomes, and assessment touchpoints are all yours to shape. We have aligned past projects to school curricula (US, UK, Belgium, Italy), to brand guidelines for global IPs, and to specific accessibility and language requirements. If you have a curriculum framework, a brand book, or a tone-of-voice guide, we will use them. If you do not, we can help you define what good looks like.

Yes. Minecraft Education is built and operated by Microsoft, runs on Microsoft 365 / Azure AD, and is covered by Microsoft's enterprise privacy and security framework — including GDPR for European users, FERPA and COPPA in the US, and the same compliance posture as the rest of Microsoft 365. It is approved for use in thousands of school districts and ministries of education around the world. The classroom version has built-in moderation, no in-game advertising, no chat with strangers, and full teacher controls. We are happy to share Microsoft's compliance documentation with your IT or legal team on request.

We measure impact in three layers. Reach — downloads, active players, sessions, and time spent inside the experience (e.g. Ocean Heroes passed 1.5 million players in six months). Engagement — completion rates, in-game choices, and classroom usage data, often gathered with Microsoft's Education analytics. Outcomes — pre- and post-experience surveys, learning assessments, qualitative feedback from teachers and players, and partner-defined KPIs (awareness, behaviour change, fundraising, brand lift). We agree on the success metrics with you up front, so we are all measuring the same thing when the project goes live.