Minecraft Revenue Over Time
As mentioned earlier, Minecraft is the best-selling game of all time, having sold over 200 million copies worldwide as of 2020. Its yearly revenue has been huge since 2012, but even now, its still bringing in the big bucks.
The game earned Mojang, the developer and owner of Minecraft at the time, nearly $240 million. This profitability was credited to the success of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition on Xbox Live Arcade and Minecraft: Pocket Edition.
Over 5 million copies of the game were sold on Xbox Live Arcade alone in the same year.
Profits for Mojang almost doubled in 2013 from the previous year thanks to Minecraft bringing in $322.4 million of revenue. At around the same time, the Xbox 360 edition had sold over 11 million copies, the PC version shifted over 14 million copies, and the PlayStation 3 version had sold more than 1 million copies.
2014 saw Minecraft change ownership to Microsoft in a $2.5 billion deal. Revenue in the same year was $165 million but increased to $350 million in the following year.
Minecraft earned the most amount of revenue in 2018, amassing $500 million in total $110 million from the mobile version of the game alone.
While Minecraft hasnt seen this level of profitability since then, its still earning a hefty sum each year. Microsoft reported their results for their fiscal Q3 in April 2021, with their personal computing division revenue being £13 billion up 13% for the first three months ending March 31st.
Why Did Notch Sell Minecraft To Microsoft
Although Notch also did a great job in terms of game development and the overall trajectory of Minecraft, it’s widely believed that he was very unhappy towards the end of his time leading the Minecraft project at Mojang. This was attributed mainly to the fact Notch always had a distaste for the limelight, even so much so that he took to voicing his frustrations publicly.
Anyone want to buy my share of Mojang so I can move on with my life? Getting hate for trying to do the right thing is not my gig.
Notch also went on to say things such as “the Mojang sale is not about the money, it’s about my sanity” – a further indication of his unhappiness towards the end of his control over Mojang.
What Is Minecraft And Why Did Microsoft Just Pay $25 Billion For It
Microsoft announced today that it is buying Mojang, a Swedish game company that is responsible for the megahit Minecraft, for $2.5 billion. Its the most significant acquisition for Microsoft since it bought Nokia last year, and one of the biggest developments of the year in the gaming world.
If youre like me , the odds are good that Minecraft is a mystery to you. What is this game? And why did Microsoft deem it worthy of a giant pile of money? Here, fellow olds, this should help:
What is Minecraft?Its an open-ended, exploration-based video game created in 2009 by Swedish game developer Markus Notch Persson. Players begin in an empty, barren world, and have to gather and mine various materials, while gathering food and fending off attacks from monsters, to survive. Theres no instruction manual to follow, and no explicit goals to achieve. Its what gamers call a sandbox game, one that lets players modify the world around them in nearly infinite ways.
So its like the Sims?Sort of, but it has much more in common with LEGO. Minecraft is a platform for creative expression that allows players to do almost anything, including modding the game itself and creating vast environments that resemble real-world places or fictional worlds. Its also much more prosaic-looking than the Sims with simple, blocky graphics straight out of the Super NES days.
Markus Persson
Those acquisition talks must have been a little awkward.
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Notch Explains Why He Sold Mojang To Microsoft
Notch took to his personal website today to explain why he sold Mojang to Microsoft and why he’s done with successful games.
You may have heard by now that Microsoft is buying Minecraftdeveloper Mojang for a massive $2.5 billion. Rumors of the deal began popping up last week, but Microsoft and Mojang officially announced the deal was going through today.
However, Mojang co-founder Markus ‘Notch’ Persson won’t be around after the sell, as he’s decided to leave the company behind along with two of other Mojang co-founders. Now, we have some insight as to why this all is going down.
In a post on his personal website, Notch explained his reasons for leaving were unrelated to the money, but more “about my sanity.” Notch wants to step out of the spotlight and go back to being a regular person.
It doesn’t seem like Notch’s departure will be temporary, either. While he still plans to work on smaller projects, he emphasizes that, should anything he work on become increasingly popular, he’ll “probably abandon it immediately.” Notch says he makes games because they’re fun, not because he’s set out to make the next big thing. And while there are sure to be numerous negative comments regarding his decision, he now feels less inclined to delve into them.
Microsoft Deserves The Credit For Saving Minecraft From Its Creator
Notch, meanwhile, has turned into a lonely, bizarre internet creep. Despite having billions of dollars and a Beverly Hill mansion with towering candy dispensers all along one of its walls, he spends time trying to provoke people on Twitter.
He regularly makes bigoted remarks and claims to believe in conspiracy theories like QAnon, which isnt worth explaining. Its likely that he doesnt care about what hes actually saying. He just wants to trigger snowflakes.
And that is the person that Microsoft saved Minecraft from. Notch released Minecraft 10 years ago, but its still most popular among young kids. When children grow interested in the game, its inevitable that some will want to learn who is making it.
One option is to tell children that it is like a holy text that came to us from aliens.
son: this minecraft game is great dad
dad: it is indeed son
son: who made it?
But Microsoft is solving this by taking ownership over Minecraft on a cultural level. Microsoft is the company that released the Xbox One Adaptive Controller to make games more accessible for disabled people. And now its the company that is tearing Notch out of Minecraft while continually building the game up. In the decades to come, Microsoft will get the credit for establishing Minecraft as a time-tested pop-culture icon.
And as a parent, that is such a relief.
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What You Need To Know
- Microsoft shared the news today that Minecraft has crossed 200 million copies sold.
- Minecraft previously sold 122 million copies as of February 2017.
- Yesterday, Minecraft developer Mojang rebranded as Mojang Studios, with plans to expand.
- Minecraft Dungeons, a hack-and-slash RPG set in the aesthetic of Minecraft, is set to release on May 26.
Minecraft has been an utter sales juggernaut, selling over 122 million copies back in February 2017. The blocks of cash keep on stacking though, as today Microsoft shared the news that Minecraft has sold over 200 million copies. This even further solidifies Minecraft’s position as the best-selling game of all time, with only Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V even being in the same league at over 120 million copies sold.
Mojang was acquired by Microsoft in back in 2014. Yesterday, Mojang shared the news that it had rebranded as Mojang Studios, unifying the dual studios in Redmond, Washington and Stockholm, Sweden. Mojang Studios also plans to explore new game projects and open additional studios in new locations.
Meanwhile, hack-and-slash RPG Minecraft Dungeons is set to release on May 26 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch.
Minecraft Net Worth 2021 Wiki Founder Revenue
Minecraft is a video game developed by Mojang, a Swedish video game developing company. The game was published in the year 2011 and achieved huge success. It features at the number two spot in the best-selling video games of all time. Let us have a look at the net worth of Minecraft in 2021.
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Minecraft Has Sold Over 144 Million Copies And Has 75 Million Monthly Active Users
There are 74 million folks playing Minecraft on a monthly basis.
As of December 2017, Minecraft has over 75 million monthly active users and has sold over 144 million copies across all platforms.
Microsoft plans on keeping the player base happy while attracting new players to Minecraft through the new Aquatic update coming this spring, and the Super Duper Graphics pack.
There’s also the Bedrock update for Switch which will introduce a Marketplace for textures, skins, and user-created Minecraft content.
The company is also continuing to concentrate on unifying the Minecraft community through cross-platform play via The Better Together Update.
Currently available on Xbox One, mobile, VR and Windows 10 devices, the Better Together Update will also be available sometime this year with the Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft, which was released in May 2017.
“All of our players are playing across a number of different devices and platforms, and it shouldn’t matter where they’re playing,”Microsoft’s Head of Minecraft, Helen Chiang, told PopSugar. “What’s important to us is that they have the opportunity to play it together, because it makes it so much more of a rich experience. That’s the journey we’re still on … making Minecraft available to anybody, anywhere in the world, any way that they want to play.”
Notch On Selling Minecraft To Microsoft: Its Not About The Money Its About My Sanity
Notch and the other founders of Mojang are selling their studio and Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion. In a blog post announcing the sale, Mojangs Owen Hill broke down the reasons for the sale, and in a separate post Notch has made his own reasons clear.
Its not about the money. Its about my sanity.
I dont see myself as a real game developer,Notch begins. I make games because its fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I dont make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I dont try to change the world. Minecraft certainly became a huge hit, and people are telling me its changed games. I never meant for it to do either. Its certainly flattering, and to gradually get thrust into some kind of public spotlight is interesting.
Notch has gradually moved away from Minecraft development, handing the reins over to Jens. Hes tried to make other, large games, like 0x10c but eventually mothballed them in favour of smaller projects. Since I decided to just stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, Ive had so much fun with work.
Already feeling disillusioned with his place in the studio, the recent EULA situation was the final straw. Mojang was changing its EULA to better protect its players from exploitative servers, a real problem in the Minecraft community, and the internet exploded with hate towards Notch for a situation he says he had nothing to do with.
Which is when he tweeted:
And Microsoft responded.
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Minecraft Is Building Bridges
In addition to putting up great sales numbers, Microsoft is using Minecraft to expand into new areas and take advantage of some emerging opportunities. The education-tech space is one area where that dynamic is evident. In 2016, Microsoft and Mojang released Minecraft: Education Edition — a version of the hit game designed for classroom use. Tech companies including Microsoft see a lot of opportunity in having a top position in ed tech, and Minecraft has the potential to be a significant asset in the space.
Educational video games have been around for decades, but Mojang’s magnum opus is unique in that it was already enormously successful before being adapted for teaching use. The game’s popularity and flexibility set the stage for continued evolution, with new tools and features being added that shape the broader world of Minecraft.
In February, Mojang debuted a chemistry-themed resource pack to Education Edition, and Microsoft also recently announced that an online Minecraft experience had helped teach 85 million people some basic computer coding principles.
Billionaire Who Sold Minecraft To Microsoft Is Sad And Lonely
Technically Incorrect: In a series of tweets, Markus Persson says he’s never felt more isolated.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that’s taken over our lives.
Being rich is wonderful.
At least that’s the assumption the whole world seems to make.
The wealthy are today’s so-called rock stars, even though the music that emerges from their mouths can sometimes feel like a dirge played on a flute slipped up someone’s nose.
This is especially true of the tech world, where untold billions have descended on young, sometimes socially awkward, nerdy types.
Markus “Notch” Persson is one of those new billionaires. The 36-year-old founded Mojang, created Minecraft and sold it to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.
He bought himself a $70 million mansion in Beverly Hills, supposedly outbidding Jay Z and Beyonce.
After completing the Microsoft deal, he didn’t join Redmond’s merry band. Instead, he started a new life. He’s wondering now if it’s a better one.
In a series of tweets posted on Saturday, Persson exposed his feelings. Raw and deeply melancholy, they reveal that money truly isn’t everything — at least for him.
He began: “The problem with getting everything is you run out of reasons to keep trying, and human interaction becomes impossible due to imbalance.”
It depends on how you define everything. For many people, Persson might seem like the man with everything. Instead, he bemoans the difficulty of having relationships.
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A Great Asset At A Good Price
In Minecraft, Microsoft appears to have purchased an asset that will pay for itself in relatively short order and help the company strengthen its business outside of gaming. Mojang reported $126 million in profits on $259 million in sales in 2013. That means that Microsoft paid roughly 20 times Mojang’s trailing earnings to acquire the developer in 2014 — a price that’s looking pretty nice in light of Minecraft‘s continued performance.
The game’s sales and margins have likely gotten better since the acquisition based on unit sales growth and the addition of in-game purchases to the title. When you factor in the potential for continued growth and the other ways that the game is an asset to the company, Microsoft made a great move acquiring Minecraft and Mojang.
The History Of Minecraft The Best Selling Pc Game Ever
The greatest selling PC game ever
In celebration of TechRadar’s PC Gaming Week 2020, lets take a look at the history of Minecraft, from its humble beginnings to being the best selling PC game of all time.
“I dont see myself as a real game developer. I make games because its fun, and because I love games and I love to program”
Markus ‘Notch’ Persson
It all began in 2009. Back then, a number of people had some seriously good ideas. One of those people was Zach Barth, who went out to found the perennial puzzle innovator Zachtronics. It was Zach who coded and released multiplayer mineral-em-up Infiniminer over the course of a few months, abandoning the freeware project after its source code was leaked.
Another was Swedish coder Markus ‘Notch’ Persson who, after previously helping develop sandbox MMO Wurm Online, was working in his spare time on a kind of Dungeon Keeper/Dwarf Fortress/Rollercoaster Tycoon combo named RubyDung.
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How Many People Play Minecraft In 2021
Still striking diamonds?
Back in 2009 when Minecraft was first released, some thought it was an overly simplistic, buggy mess, with just 32 blocks to build with . It certainly wasnt something youd think in a million years would turn into the best-selling game of all time.
However, the full edition, which officially launched on November 18, 2011, is a game you could see raking in players and revenue by the millions and thats exactly what it did.
Before its full edition launch, the game received significant updates and changes, and also amassed a devout following. After this version came out, though, it just sort of exploded in popularity.
Its no secret that the game was a massive critical success at the time, but its now over a decade old, and a lot can change in that amount of time.
So, how is the current state of Minecraft today? Lets do some digging to see just how many people play Minecraft in 2021.
Is Minecraft More Popular Than Fortnite 2021
Despite what the gaming community might think of them, Minecraft and Fortnite have definitively made their respective marks on the gaming industry. As of 2020, data shows that Minecraft has around 126 million players, but Fortnite has around 350 million 224 million more, despite being eight years Minecrafts junior.
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Why Did Notch Persson Sell Out To Microsoft
As more news of the deal emerged, many blamed Markus Notch Persson, 35, the games developer. In his own defense, Persson said he had become overwhelmed by Minecrafts rise. I dont see myself as a real game developer.
He stopped working on Minecraft after a deal with Microsoft to sell Mojang for $2.5 billion. This brought his net worth to US$1.5 billion.