Minecraft hits incredible 300 million sales milestone

Minecraft will turn 15 next year, and we've been given some insight into how popular it is right now: The game has now sold over 300 million copies worldwide. To put it in context, Grand Theft Auto V is a distant second, with over 185 million copies sold. Even its slightly later debut (2013) does nothing to close the gap, especially given that Minecraft exceeded the 200 million milestone in 2020.

Mojang Studios unveiled the achievement at a Minecraft Live event where they revealed additional features in the works, such as a trial chamber with traps, mobs, and more coming at you via a succession of rooms and hallways. A new Star Wars: Path of the Jedi DLC, as well as Planet Earth DLC, will be released on November 7 and early next year, respectively.

Helen Chiang, CEO of Mojang Studios, explained how far the game has progressed:

"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."

Minecraft's exact release date is a little hazy. Markus Persson, better known as Notch, first made Minecraft available to the public in 2009 (which is the anniversary currently being celebrated), but the game wasn't formally released until late 2011. Persson utilized the initial launch to improve the game, keeping track of feedback and providing alpha and beta updates under his own company, Mojang, in 2010. Jens Bergesten took over as chief designer at the end of that year, and the official Minecraft game was released for iOS in November 2011.