Mojang announces a price reduction for Minecraft Realms, saying they are also now serving up a free trial version for anyone who hasn't previously played this version of the game that allows you to run your own Minecraft server. Here's a rundown on the game, the price drop, and the free trial:

I don’t know what Realms is! I am confused
Realms is a safe, simple way to enjoy an online Minecraft world with friends. Realms worlds are always available and only open to people you invite, so you don’t need to worry about mean people blowing up your creations or stealing your resources. Only the host of the world needs to pay, and up to ten players can hang out on a Realm at any one time.

Realms supports loads of exciting mini-games and custom spawns, and the owner of the Realm can switch between them at will. Though we’re excited to bring Minecraft Realms to other editions of Minecraft, it’s currently only available on the PC Java Edition.

You mentioned a trial? A FREE trial?
Anyone who hasn’t previously owned a Realm can now sign up for a 30 day trial via the Realms menu in your client. We don’t even force you to enter your credit card details because we’re nice like that.

Tell me about the lower prices!
I can do that!
A 30 day subscription to Minecraft Realms used to cost £8/€10/$13. Now it’s a mere £6.99/€8.99/$9.99.
90 days of mini-games, cool spawns, and procedurally generated worlds used to cost £21/€26/$35. Now it’ll set you back £18.99/€23.99/$26.99.
180 days of online fun via our 100%-official-online-world-solution-for-dedicated-fans, Minecraft Realms, used to cost £38/€46/$62. Now it’s just £33.99/€42.99/$47.99