H&R Block Brings Block City to the Minecraft Metaverse

Exclusive live-streamed event revives the Iconic Minecraft Competitive League

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) announced the launch of a new tax-themed gaming experience in Minecraft that kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 3 with a live-streamed Minecraft Competitive League (MCL) competition at 2 p.m. EST.

H&R Block’s new Minecraft experience integrates custom versions of the original game, featuring a playable H&R Block branded character, Sir Block. Additionally, this unique MCL will include fully customized maps, models and characters, not to mention a series of avatars and skins available for download by any Minecraft player, even those not competing in MCL.

“Gaming and taxes are an unlikely pairing, which is exactly why we wanted to do this,” said Jill Cress, chief marketing and experience officer, H&R Block. “Many young adult gamers are or will soon file taxes for the first time. Block City and Sir Block are fun and relevant ways to remind them that we are here to help them tackle this challenge and get the best possible outcome at tax time.”

On Feb. 3 the company will unveil this exclusive experience with a live-streamed MCL tournament featuring professional Minecraft players, like CaptainSparklez and hannahxxrose. Eight teams of five top gamers from across the country will battle across multiple levels and compete to win a prize pool of $100,000. This H&R Block themed reboot of the iconic Minecraft Competitive League (MCL) can be viewed live by following any of the eight team captains – ItzMasayoshi, jojothamofo, Punz, SmallAnt, BadBoyHalo, BTMC and Fit – or any of their team members on their YouTube, Twitch or Kick accounts.

Beginning Saturday, Feb. 10 for 12 consecutive Saturdays at 2 p.m. EST, H&R Block will host community invitational MCL events with hundreds of gamers from around the country. These individuals will compete on teams to show off their gaming skills while exploring the exclusive H&R Block Minecraft experience. Links to watch the community events will be published each week by Moonrock, the creative agency partnering with H&R Block to bring this experience to life, on the brands social channels.

For the millions of Minecraft players, including those not participating in the MCL tournament or MCL community invitational events, three collectible in-game wearables/skins will be available for download at lunarclient.com/HRBlock. The “cloak” is available today using HRBlock as a download code. Two additional skins will come available in February and March on the 15^th of each month, featuring a “pet” and an “emote.”