Summary
Markus “Notch” Persson, well-known as the creator ofMinecraft, has announced plans to create a spiritual successor. Notch sold the rights toMinecraftback in 2014 when his studio, Mojang, was acquired by Microsoft. This means the game’s original creator cannot legally create an official sequel, but Notch has said he plans to develop a spiritual successor under a different name.
Minecraftquickly rose to fame after launching in alpha in 2009, which was then followed by a full 1.0 release in 2011. After becoming one of themost successful indie games of all time, Microsoft acquired Mojang in 2014 for a massive $2.5 billion. The quirky sandbox game still receives a steady stream of content updates under the Microsoft umbrella and has become the best-selling video game of all time, raking in over 300 million copies sold as of 2023. Due to the nature ofMinecraftreceiving new updates regularly, a sequel seemed massively unlikely, until now.
Original Minecraft Creator Announces Spiritual Successor
In a new post on Twitter, Notch posted a poll asking his fans whether or not he should continue working on his new game, which featurestraditional roguelike elementsmixed with tile-based first-person dungeon crawler features, or develop a spiritual successor toMinecraft. As of writing, the poll is in favor of “Minecraft 2,” with 77.4% of the 220,000+ votes urging Notch to begin work on an unofficial sequel. A follow-up post then said he was “serious” about the poll and when asked by a fan what he was referencing, Notch said, “I basically announcedMinecraft 2.”
AfterMicrosoft purchasedMinecraftdeveloper Mojangin 2014, the company acquired the legal rights to the IP, which means a sequel can only be developed with Microsoft’s approval. This is something Notch seems to be well aware of, as when asked by a fan if creating aMinecraftsequel was even legal, he said, “No, it would be super illegal.” Notch then explained that it would be a new, original game with a completely different name, but act as a “spiritual successor” to the smash hit sandbox game. He also noted that it would feature “new lore” and would have no connection toMinecraft’s lore.
Many other games haveattempted to recreate the feel ofMinecraft, but very few have found success. While Notch is the game’s original creator, the developer left Mojang when he sold the studio to Microsoft, which means it has now been over 10 years since he had any input on the game. After a full decade of updates, it would certainly be interesting to see the originalMinecraftcreator’s take on what he would have turned the game into, had he remained at the studio.
Minecraft
WHERE TO PLAY
Minecraft is a game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. You can survive the night or build a work of art – the choice is all yours. But if the thought of exploring a vast new world all on your own feels overwhelming, then fear not!Minecraft has no set goal and can be played however you’d like! This is why it’s sometimes called a “sandbox game” – there are lots of things for you to do, and lots of ways that you can play. If you like being creative, then you can use the blocks to build things from your imagination. If you’re feeling brave, you can explore the world and face daring challenges. Blocks can be broken, crafted, placed to reshape the landscape, or used to build fantastical creations.Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on how you play. The world of Minecraft allows for epic adventures, quiet meditations, and everything in between. You can even share your creations with other players, or play in community worlds!
