Minecraft continues to be one of the most popular games ever, as Microsoft recently revealed that the game has now sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
In addition to its incredible sales milestone, Microsoft further attested to Minecraft’s lasting power by reporting that the game now also has over 126 million monthly players.
Around this time last year, Microsoft reported that Minecraft sold over 176 million copies. The developers alluded to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as a factor in its surging sales, as most of the world remains in quarantine where video games have emerged as the safest pastime of choice for many.
“In these extraordinary times, we’re reminded more than ever before of the important role games like Minecraft can play in providing an escape from the day-to-day and fostering social connections between friends and families,” said Helen Chiang, Studio Head at Minecraft developer, Mojang Studios, in a blog post for Microsoft.
The record-setting figure continues to make Minecraft the best-selling game of all time, an impressive feat for what is now an 11-year old game.
For comparison, the next best-selling game based on official figures is Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V, which has sold a mere 120 million copies as of February this year.
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The now-classic sandbox game was first released back in May 17, 2009 by Markus “Notch” Persson and Mojang Studios as a public alpha for the PC before its official release in November 2011. After the game earned global acclaim, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion in 2014.
Since then, Microsoft has spearheaded the release of a number of Minecraft spin-off games such as a free-to-play mobile augmented reality game called Minecraft Earth for the franchise’s tenth anniversary.
A dungeon crawler spin-off called Minecraft Dungeons is also set to be released on May 26 this year for PC and consoles.
Alongside the release of Minecraft Dungoens, Mojang also celebrated the game’s birthday this year by unveiling an updated logo and visual identity, as well as officially going by Mojang Studios moving forward. The studio was notably called Mojang Specifications when Minecraft was first released and then Mojang AB in late 2010.
“Though 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year, we’re proud that Minecraft continues to inspire and connect an ever-growing global community of passionate players and creators,” said Chiang.
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