Minecraft Tops 300 Million Sales, Rivals Tetris
The video game Minecraft has now sold over 300 million copies, making it one of the most popular video games ever made.
The game's creators, Mojang Studios, announced the milestone as part of the Minecraft Live 2023 online event on October 15.
The event included talks with game creators and information on the game's newest update. It also let the public choose a new creature — or "mob" — that will be added to the game.
"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 Helen Chiang, the head of Mojang Studios, according to Forbes.
The game — which puts players in a world made from square blocks that can be moved, replaced, built or destroyed — was created in 2009 by Swedish programmer Markus Persson. Its first full version was released to the public in 2011, and the company was bought by Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014.
Minecraft's popularity comes second only to another block game: Tetris.
Tetris was created in 1984 in Russia, and was first played on a computer. According to The Tetris Company, more than 520 million copies of the game have been sold.
After Tetris and Minecraft, the next biggest game is Grand Theft Auto V. Released in 2013, it is still popular today, and had sold more than 185 million copies by August 2023.
The newest Minecraft update, to be released in 2024, will let players visit new buildings, meet new "mobs," build with new blocks and more.
And during the Minecraft Live 2023 event, the public chose an armadillo as a new "mob" for the game — beating a blue crab and a penguin.
