Minecraft began as a quaint little indie title developed by a lone man – Markus Persson. The original version of the game has been shifted to a free-to-play multiplayer variant (now known as Minecraft Classic) while Persson worked on a more feature rich (and paid-for) version of his game. This was known as Minecraft Alpha.
The game has since reached the beta phase of production. Whilst still operating under the Alpha moniker, Minecraft exploded in popularity in a great example of the power of viral Internet marketing. Mentions on a few high profile developer blogs catalysed public interest in the game. Although the game was on sale for a 50% discount during the Alpha phase, soon Persson was raking in a load of money.
Despite being offered jobs at high-profile studios such as Bungie and Valve, Persson decided to take his new-found wealth and form an official company, Mojang Specifications, in support of his Minecraft project. He has since grown the company by hiring staff, and Minecraft development continues full steam ahead.
Sales have continued to boom and now Minecraft Beta has reached the brag-worthy one million sales mark – all before the game has even released as version 1.0.
Persson confirms the sales landmark via his Twitter account.
Minecraft Classic can be accessed from the Minecraft website.
Discuss Minecraft on the MyGaming forum.
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