Minecraft has been a staple in the gaming world for well over a decade now and it is arguably the most popular game of all time, but no one foresaw the milestone the building sandbox game would ultimately surpass in 2023.
15 years is a long time for just one game to continuously thrive, and most other game franchises regularly release new variations of their game to reignite interest, but vanilla Minecraft has not only maintained relevance throughout this time, but it has also amassed an incredible 300 million copies sold just ahead of its 15-year anniversary.
Minecraft was first publicly released on Nov. 18, 2011, but since it was also previously somewhat available to play starting on May 17, 2009, 2024 marks the game’s official 15th anniversary.
This anniversary was mentioned in the Minecraft Live event, and the incredible milestone of surpassing 300 million copies sold was then shared in an official recap blog that followed after the event’s conclusion
“As we approach the 15th anniversary, Minecraft remains one of the best-selling games of all time, with over 300 million copies sold, a milestone no one could have dreamed of when we were all placing our first blocks,” said Head of Mojang and corporate vice president of the Minecraft franchise Helen Chaing.
Chiang thanked the “incredible community” that has “built Minecraft into what it is today and what it will become in the future.” To commemorate both the anniversary and this momentous record, the entire year of 2024 has been officially deemed Minecraft’s 15th Anniversary Celebration.
The team didn’t share all of the details on what this means for players and Minecraft overall, but they did tease “more updates and surprises” arriving with it.
Even though Minecraft has already had an impressively long lifeline, the team doesn’t seem to have any plans of slowing down in the near future. Chiang said they “can’t wait to share new Minecraft content and experiences in the years ahead,” which means they’re likely already working on or planning for content a few years out.
One such piece of content is Minecraft’s next major update, which is set to arrive in mid-2024. This update will overhaul crafting and combat as we know it, and there are also those mysterious updates and surprises that Mojang teased, so there’s certainly a lot of exciting content to look forward to as Minecraft continues to thrive in the gaming space.
