Minecraft is a sandbox video game developed by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus “Notch” Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before fully releasing in November 2011, with Jens Bergensten then taking over development. Minecraft has since been ported to several other platforms and is the best-selling video game of all time, with 200 million copies sold and 126 million monthly active users as of 2020.MinecraftThe default player skin, Steve, running across a grassy plain while carrying a Iron pickaxe. Alongside him is a tamed wolf. In the background, there is a pig, a chicken, a cow, a burning skeleton, a zombie, and a creeper. Mountains and cliffs fill the background, and the sky is blue, filled with clouds. Hovering over the scene is the Minecraft logo.Promotional cover artDeveloper(s)Mojang Studios[a]Publisher(s)Mojang Studios[b]Microsoft Studios[c]Sony Interactive Entertainment[d]Designer(s)Markus Persson[e]Jens Bergensten[f]Artist(s)Markus ToivonenJasper BoerstraComposer(s)C418[g]SeriesMinecraftPlatform(s)Windows, macOS, LinuxAndroidiOSXbox 360Raspberry PiWindows PhonePlayStation 3Fire OSPlayStation 4Xbox OnePlayStation VitaUniversal Windows PlatformWii UtvOSNintendo SwitchNew Nintendo 3DSRelease18 November 2011[h]Windows, macOS, Linux:WW: 18 November 2011[3]AndroidWW: 7 October 2011[4]iOSWW: 17 November 2011[5]Xbox 360WW: 9 May 2012[6]Raspberry PiWW: 11 February 2013[7]PlayStation 3NA: 17 December 2013EU: 18 December 2013Fire OSWW: 2 April 2014[8]PlayStation 4WW: 4 September 2014[9]Xbox OneWW: 5 September 2014[10]PlayStation VitaNA: 14 October 2014[11]EU: 15 October 2014Windows PhoneWW: 10 December 2014[12]Windows 10WW: 29 July 2015[13]Wii UWW: 17 December 2015[14]tvOSWW: 19 December 2016[15]Nintendo SwitchNA: 11 May 2017PAL: 12 May 2017New Nintendo 3DSWW: 13 September 2017[16]EU: 20 September 2018Genre(s)Sandbox, survivalMode(s)Single-player, multiplayerIn Minecraft, players explore a blocky, procedurally-generated 3D world with virtually infinite terrain, and may discover and extract raw materials, craft tools and items, and build structures or earthworks. Depending on game mode, players can fight computer-controlled mobs, as well as cooperate with or compete against other players in the same world. Game modes include a survival mode, in which players must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health, and a creative mode, where players have unlimited resources and access to flight. Players can modify the game to create new gameplay mechanics, items, and assets.Minecraft has been critically acclaimed, winning several awards and being cited as one of the greatest video games of all time. Social media, parodies, adaptations, merchandise, and the annual MineCon conventions played large roles in popularizing the game. It has also been used in educational environments, especially in the realm of computing systems, as virtual computers and hardware devices have been built in it. In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion. A number of spin-off games have also been produced, such as Minecraft: Story Mode, Minecraft Dungeons, and Minecraft Earth.