Back in 2011, when Minecraft officially launched, few would have guessed that this blocky sandbox game would one day become the best-selling video game of all time. As of October 2023, it had surpassed 300 million copies sold, leaving even Grand Theft Auto V (with 210 million) far behind.
Markus “Notch” Persson originally worked as a web designer but soon shifted his focus to programming. Between 2004 and 2009, he was employed at the Swedish company King, and during that time, he co-created the medieval sandbox MMO Wurm Online, which still operates today. He also worked on numerous side projects—small web-based games he entered into indie dev contests and discussed with peers on the TIGSource forum.
One of his more ambitious ideas back then was RubyDung, an isometric building game inspired by titles like RollerCoaster Tycoon. However, the game never quite came together visually or in terms of gameplay, and he eventually abandoned it. A breakthrough came when Persson discovered Infiniminer—an open-source 3D sandbox game that allowed players to dig and build. Inspired by its mechanics, he switched to a first-person view and built his own game around the concept of blocks. His early prototype, originally called CaveGame, was uploaded to the TIGSource forum on May 17, 2009. Within minutes, the first excited feedback came in, and players began sharing screenshots of their creations—sparking a snowball of attention.
Even in its early, limited form—with no save function, multiplayer, or custom maps—Minecraft’s popularity soared. Persson soon added multiplayer support and realized the project could become more than just a hobby. He introduced a pricing model to reward early adopters: those who bought the game during its development phase got a lower price. The game started selling rapidly—so much so that PayPal temporarily froze his account, suspecting fraudulent activity.
With Minecraft’s growing success, Persson decided to found a company to manage its development. He brought on former colleagues Jakob Porsér and Carl Manneh, and together they launched Mojang. By 2010, Persson had a small team dedicated to improving the game. Interest continued to grow rapidly, and even Valve took notice—inviting him to their offices in Bellevue, Washington. Though no deal materialized, that visit led to the first unofficial MinecraftCon, where Persson met with about 50 fans.
By the end of 2010, Minecraft had sold over 700,000 copies—even though it wasn’t officially finished. For the official launch of version 1.0, Mojang hosted the first official MineCon at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas, attracting 4,500 attendees. That event also marked a turning point: just two weeks later, Persson stepped down as lead developer, passing the torch to Jens Bergensten, who still works at Mojang and even makes a cameo as a waiter in the Minecraft movie.
Although Persson had stepped away from development, most players still saw him as the face of the game. This meant a constant flood of feedback, criticism, and questions, which became overwhelming. In 2014, he casually tweeted that he was open to selling his stake in Mojang.
The biggest names in the gaming industry came knocking—Electronic Arts, Activision, and Microsoft among them. After several rounds of negotiations, Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios for $2.5 billion. Persson, Porsér, and Manneh all left the company. Microsoft, however, chose to let Mojang remain creatively independent while supporting it with the resources and backing of a tech giant.
The rest is history. Persson began living the life of a billionaire—a life that didn’t bring him much joy. Some of his later remarks on feminism and politics made him a controversial figure, and in 2019, Microsoft chose not to invite him to Minecraft’s 10th anniversary celebration.
