Oliver Mendez, 9th Grade

One of the most popular games of all time and *the* best-selling game of all, it is classified as a cultural phenomenon and has stood the test of time. Minecraft is still there, being popular in the 2012 London Olympics, the second Trump presidency, and will now receive a big-budget Hollywood film.

It was originally created by Markus Persson, popularly referred to as ‘Notch.’ On may 2009, he released the first version of Minecraft and shared it on Youtube. In the first version of Minecraft or Cave Game (its original name), players explored a 3D block world, mined ore and other elements and used the materials they mined to craft tools and build stuff. What makes Minecraft special is that it allows players to use their imagination and creativity to do whatever they’d like, with almost limitless possibilities; similar to Lego, but in a computer, with more options. Because, unlike in real life, the blocks don’t end. A year later, Notch released a new version with new blocks, new items, new mobs (or NPCs), and a new survival mode. Also, he created Mojang and hired other programmers and executives.

By 2012, Minecraft had sold over 15 million copies as the game kept updating by adding new items and mobs. In 2014, Microsoft acquired Mojang for 2.5 billion and released the game on XBox, PlayStation, and mobile devices through the Pocket Edition.

Through mods, Minecraft was able to maintain its popularity. Mods are modifications of the original game. Minecraft lets you modify the game how you want, you just need to learn how to code. This opens millions of possibilities adding to the original gameplay, all this without Microsoft laying a single hand. Furthermore, Minecraft also has servers that allow you to play a variety of games such as Hunger Games, TNT Run, Sky Wars, and PvP with your friends. And, you can also play survival mode and beat the game the ‘old-fashioned’ way.

YouTubers such as PewDiePie, Markiplier, DanTDM, Vegetta777, Technoblade, and Ibai helped popularized the game as well, by streaming themselves consuming the game and creating their own servers to interact with fans.

While Minecraft has had some low years, they have been able to stand the test of time and maintain consistency, something few live service games have been able to achieve. Today, they have sold over 300 million copies and it has become the best-selling game of all time across all platforms.

References:

Bedtime History Stories. (n.d.). The history of Minecraft. Bedtime History Stories. Retrieved from https://bedtimehistorystories.com/the-history-of-minecraft/

Gironda, A. (n.d.). The rise, fall, and revival of Minecraft. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@alecgironda/the-rise-fall-and-revival-of-minecraft-a78ffe6ab930

Hypixel Studios. (n.d.). Hypixel Forums. Hypixel. Retrieved from https://hypixel.net/