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Minecraft was originally created in 2009 by Mojang. In terms of the number of units sold, including the Pocket Edition, it is the best-selling video game.

The game was consistently in the top 10 of the NPD until the NPD moved to revenue. The game, in total, has sold over 176 million units across its various version across all platforms. It should be noted that most of these sales come from the paid mobile version, which sells for $5 each. The free versions of the mobile version and the free copies of Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition are also not included in this figure. It also ignores China as the game is Free to Play in China.

History[]

The game was originally released in May 2009 in alpha state by Notch. The game regularly updates through the years with a team joining. In June 2010, the game reached its proper Alpha 1.0.0 stage. In the following December, the game reached the Beta stage. In January 2011, the game had achieved 1 million sales.

In May 2011, the mobile version, Minecraft: Pocket Edition is announced. In June, Microsoft revealed Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition at its E3 conference. In November 2011, the first Minecon occured with 4500 attendees. Mojang also revealed the full 1.0.0 edition the same day.

In January 2012, Lego announced that the LEGO Minecraft project reached the required amount of votes. In July 2012, the first console version is finally out. In June 2013, Minecraft: Xbox One Edition is announced by Microsoft. In August 2013, Minecraft is announced for Playstation platforms. In January 2014, Minecraft Realms is launched in Nordic countries. This offers dedicated servers for the game at a price. This service is rollouted throughout the year. In September 2014, the games released on Playstation 4 and Xbox One

In September 2014, Microsoft purchased Mojang along with Minecraft for $2.5 billion[1]. With this acquisition, Notch left the company and the industry in general, Despite this meaning Microsoft had complete control over the property, this did not end sales of the game on PlayStation platforms and Microsoft eventually worked with Nintendo to put the game on Nintendo Platforms in 2015.

In 2015, Telltale acquired the rights to release an adventure game spinoff of the series called, Minecraft: Story Mode. The game was aimed at younger audiences than their previous works and featured cameos of various Minecraft Youtubers and streamers. The game received a second season in 2017.

In April 2017, the PC version is beta launched in China and opened up in August. Microsoft partnered with Chinese publisher NetEase with the game being in a Free to Play model. In June 2017, Microsoft announces the Better Together Update which will allow crossplay for the Windows 10, Pocket, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions of the game. This also streamlines Realms and Skins purchases. In September 2017, the Better Together update is rolling out.

As of April 2019, title has sold 30 million on PC alone. In May 2019, Microsoft announced a new mobile AR title called Minecraft Earth.

Sales Milestones[]

  • 1 million - January 2011
  • 10 million (PC Only) - April 2013
  • 20 million (PC Only) - June 2015[2]
  • 17.5 million - December 2012[3]
  • 54 million - September 2014 [4]
  • 70 million - June 2015[2]
  • 100 million - June 2016[5]
  • 122 million - February 2017 [6]
  • 144 million - January 2018
  • 154 million - October 2018[7]
  • 176 million - May 2019[8]
  • 200 million - May 2020[9]
  • 238 million - May 2021 [10]
  • 300 million - October 2023[11]

Pocket Edition[]

  • 5 million - December 2012[3]
  • 10 million - May 2013 [12]
  • 21 million - April 2014[13]
  • 30 million - January 2015[14]
  • 36 million - June 2016[5]
  • 133 million - May 2021 [10]

Trivia[]

  • Minecraft: Vita Edition is the only million seller for the Vita in Japan
  • Minecraft has sold over 300 million units worldwide

References[]

  1. https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-agrees-to-acquire-creator-of-minecraft-1410786190
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/30/8872503/minecraft-sales-pc-mac-20-million-copies Total from combining milestones from different versions 1. 20 million from PC/Mac sales 2. 30 million for Pocket Edition 3. 20 million for Xbox as of May 2015
  3. 3.0 3.1 https://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-franchise-sales-hit-175-million/1100-6401538/Platform splits = 8.3 million for PC, 4.48 million for Xbox, 5 million for Pocket Edition
  4. https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/15/6151477/microsoft-minecraft-mojang-acquisition
  5. 5.0 5.1 https://mojang.com/2016/06/weve-sold-minecraft-many-many-times-look/
  6. https://www.polygon.com/2017/2/27/14755644/minecraft-sales-122m-copies
  7. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-10-02-minecraft-exceeds-90-million-monthly-active-users
  8. https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2019/05/17/minecraft-ten-years/
  9. https://www.statista.com/statistics/680124/minecraft-unit-sales-worldwide/
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://news.xbox.com/en-us/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/Minecraft-Franchise-Fact-Sheet_April-2021.pdf
  11. https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/15/23916349/minecraft-mojang-sold-300-million-copies-live-2023
  12. https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/50564/minecraft-pocket-edition-passes-10-million-sales-milestone/
  13. https://venturebeat.com/games/minecraft-pocket-edition-passes-21-million-in-sales-far-more-than-on-pc-or-console/
  14. https://www.vg247.com/minecraft-pocket-edition-sales-top-30-million
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