Minecraft has officially hit the 200 million mark in sales with about 126 million people playing the game monthly. Microsoft is detailing the latest sales figures just as Mojang Studios celebrates 11 years since the first Minecraft alpha build was originally released.
Microsoft had seen a surge in Minecraft usage owing largely to the Coronavirus pandemic. The company saw a 25 percent increase in new players last month and a 40 percent spike in multiplayer sessions.
Way back in 2016, Minecraft sales topped 100 million and yet the game is not showing any sign of slowing down. A surge in interest from YouTubers and nostalgia-induced playing saw Minecraft remain king of YouTube viewership stats last year.
Seen as one of Microsoft’s best acquisitions, Minecraft was acquired from maker Mojang nearly six years ago for $2.5 billion, and at the time, it had sold more than 50 million copies across PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and other platforms. It was a smart purchase by Microsoft, and the incredible sales growth and momentum ever since has kept players returning to the game for years.
In review, it is interesting to know that Minecraft started off life as a bedroom project distributed initially as a Java applet on a web forum. It found great acceptance from thousands of gamers who loved the indie game’s concept of allowing players to shape an environment by crafting and building constructions out of blocks.It has given birth to a community that creates replica objects and YouTube tips on how to play Minecraft that are regularly shared with millions of viewers.