Minecraft (franchise)

Minecraft is a 3D survival sandbox game developed and published by Mojang. It was originally created by the independent video game designer Markus Persson in 2009, before giving the development to Jens Bergensten in 2011. The game has no specific goals to accomplish, allowing players a large amount of freedom in choosing how to play the game.[2] Gameplay is in the first-person perspective by default, but players have the option for third-person perspective.[3] Game modes include survival mode, in which players must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health, a creative mode, where players have unlimited resources, and an adventure mode, where players can not break blocks, but explore freely or fight mobs. The game world is composed of rough 3D objects—mainly cubes and fluids, and commonly called "blocks"—representing various materials, such as dirt, stone, ores, tree trunks, water, and lava. The core gameplay revolves around picking up and placing these objects. These blocks are arranged in a 3D grid, while players can move freely around the world. Players can "mine" blocks and then place them elsewhere, enabling them to build things.[4] Many commentators have described the game's physics system as unrealistic;[5] liquids continuously flow for a limited horizontal distance from source blocks, which can be removed by placing a solid block in its place or by scooping it into a bucket.[6] The game also contains a material known as redstone, which can be used to make primitive mechanical devices, electrical circuits, and logic gates, allowing for the construction of many complex systems.[7]

The game can run on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.[8][9] Apart from Minecraft: Java Edition and Minecraft for Windows 10, there are other versions of Minecraft for PC, including Minecraft Classic, Minecraft 4K, and Minecraft: Education Edition.

Minecraft Classic is an older version of Minecraft that was first available online[10] and can also be played through the game's launcher.[11] Unlike newer versions of Minecraft, the Classic version is free to play, though it is no longer updated. It functions much the same as creative mode, allowing players to build and destroy any and all parts of the world either alone or in a multiplayer server. Environmental hazards such as lava do not damage players, and some blocks function differently since their behavior was later changed during development.[12][13][14]

Minecraft 4K is a simplified version of Minecraft similar to the Classic version that was developed for the Java 4K game programming contest "in way less than 4 kilobytes".[15] The map itself is finite—composed of 64×64×64 blocks—and the same world is generated every time. Players are restricted to placing or destroying blocks, which consist of grass, dirt, stone, wood, leaves, and brick.[16]

Minecraft: Education Edition is a version of Minecraft created specifically for educational institutions, which was launched 1 November 2016.[17] It includes a Chemistry Resource Pack,[18] free lesson plans on the Minecraft: Education Edition website, and two free companion applications: Code Connection and Classroom Mode.[19]

Minecraft for Windows 10 is currently exclusive to Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system. The beta for it launched on the Windows Store on 29 July 2015.[20] This version has the ability to play with Xbox Live friends, and to play local multiplayer with owners of Minecraft on other Bedrock platforms. Other features include the ability to use multiple control schemes, such as a gamepad, keyboard, or touchscreen (for Microsoft Surface and other touchscreen-enabled devices), virtual reality support, and to record and take screenshots in-game via the built-in GameDVR.[21]

On 16 August 2011, Minecraft: Pocket Edition was released for the Xperia Play on the Android Market as an early alpha version. It was then released for several other compatible devices on 8 October 2011.[22][23] An iOS version of Minecraft was released on 17 November 2011.[24] A port was made available for Windows Phones shortly after Microsoft acquired Mojang.[25] The port concentrates on the creative building and the primitive survival aspect of the game, and does not contain all the features of the PC release. On his Twitter account, Jens Bergensten said that the Pocket Edition of Minecraft is written in C++ and not Java, due to iOS not being able to support Java.[26] Gradual updates are periodically released to bring the port closer to the PC version.[27]

On 10 December 2014, in observance of Mojang's acquisition by Microsoft, a port of Pocket Edition was released for Windows Phone 8.1.[28] On 18 January 2017, Microsoft announced that it would no longer maintain the Windows Phone versions of Pocket Edition.[29] On 19 December 2016, the full version of Minecraft: Pocket Edition was released on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. On 31 July 2017, the Pocket Edition portion of the name was dropped and the apps were renamed simply as Minecraft.[30] The Pocket Edition's engine, known as "Bedrock", was ported to non-mobile platforms Windows 10, Xbox One, Gear VR, Apple TV, Fire TV, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.[31][32][33][34] Versions of the game on the Bedrock engine are collectively referred to as the Bedrock Edition.

An Xbox 360 version of the game, developed by 4J Studios, was released on 9 May 2012.[35][36] On 22 March 2012, it was announced that Minecraft would be the flagship game in a new Xbox Live promotion called Arcade NEXT.[36] The game differs from the home computer versions in a number of ways, including a newly designed crafting system, the control interface, in-game tutorials, split-screen multiplayer, and the ability to play with friends via Xbox Live.[37][38] The worlds in the Xbox 360 version are also not "infinite", and are essentially barricaded by invisible walls.[38] The Xbox 360 version was originally similar in content to older PC versions, but was gradually updated to bring it closer to the current PC version prior to its discontinuation.[35][39][40] An Xbox One version featuring larger worlds among other enhancements[41] was released on 5 September 2014.[41]

Versions of the game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 were released on 17 December 2013 and 4 September 2014 respectively.[42] The PlayStation 4 version was announced as a launch title, though it was eventually delayed.[43][44] A version for PlayStation Vita was also released in October 2014.[45] Like the Xbox versions, the PlayStation versions were developed by 4J Studios.[46]

On 17 December 2015, Minecraft: Wii U Edition was released. The Wii U version received a physical release on 17 June 2016 in North America,[47] in Japan on 23 June 2016,[48] and in Europe on 30 June 2016.[49] A Nintendo Switch version of the game was released on the Nintendo eShop on 11 May 2017, along with a physical retail version set for a later date.[50] During a Nintendo Direct presentation on 13 September 2017, Nintendo announced that Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition would be available for download immediately after the livestream, and a physical copy available on a later date. The game is only compatible with the "New" versions of the 3DS and 2DS systems, and does not work with the original 3DS, 3DS XL, or 2DS models.[51]

On 18 December 2018, the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and Wii U versions of Minecraft received their final update.[52]

The PlayStation 4 version of Minecraft was updated in December 2019 to support cross-platform play with all other Bedrock editions, though users are required to have a free Xbox Live account to play.[34]

Minecraft: Story Mode, an episodic spin-off game developed by Telltale Games in collaboration with Mojang, was announced in December 2014. Consisting of five episodes plus three additional downloadable episodes, the standalone game is a narrative and player choice-driven, and it was released on Windows, OS X, iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One via download on 13 October 2015.[53][54][55] A physical disc that grants access to all episodes was released for the aforementioned four consoles on 27 October.[55] Wii U[56] and Nintendo Switch version were also later released[57][58] The first trailer for the game was shown at MineCon on 4 July 2015, revealing some of the game's features. In Minecraft: Story Mode, players control Jesse (voiced by Patton Oswalt and Catherine Taber),[55] who sets out on a journey with his or her friends to find The Order of the Stone—four adventurers who slayed an Ender Dragon—in order to save their world. Brian Posehn, Ashley Johnson, Scott Porter, Martha Plimpton, Dave Fennoy, Corey Feldman, Billy West and Paul Reubens portray the rest of the cast.[59]

The second season was released from July to December 2017. It continued the story from the first season, with the player's choices affecting elements within Season 2. Patton Oswalt, Catherine Taber, Ashley Johnson, and Scott Porter were confirmed to continue voicework for the new season. The game supports the new Crowd Play feature that Telltale introduced in Batman: The Telltale Series, allowing up to 2,000 audience members to vote on decisions for the player using Twitch or other streaming services.[60]

Minecraft Earth is an augmented reality sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. A spin-off of the video game Minecraft, it was first announced in May 2019, and is available on Android, iOS, and iPadOS. The game allows players to interact with the world and build Minecraft-style structures and objects that will persist and can be modified by other players. The game will implement the resource-gathering and many of other features of the original game in an augmented-reality setting. The game had a beta release in July 2019.[61] The game is free-to-play, and was released in early access in October 2019. The game is scheduled to shut down in June 2021.

Minecraft Dungeons is a dungeon crawler video game developed by Mojang Studios and Double Eleven. It was published by Xbox Game Studios. It is a spin-off of Minecraft and was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 26 May 2020. The game received mixed reviews; many deemed the game fun and charming, with praise for its visuals and music. However, its simple gameplay and use of procedural generation received a more mixed reception, with its short story and lack of depth criticized. It is a hack and slash-styled[62][63] dungeon crawler, rendered from an isometric perspective.[64] Players explore procedurally generated and hand crafted dungeons filled with randomly-generated monsters and also deal with traps, puzzles, bosses and finding treasure.[65][66]

A documentary about the development of Mojang and Minecraft was released in December 2012. Titled Minecraft: The Story of Mojang, the film was produced by 2 Player Productions.[67] In 2014, an attempt to crowdfund a fan film through Kickstarter was shut down after Persson refused to let the filmmakers use the license.[68][69]

In 2012, Mojang received offers from Hollywood producers who wanted to produce Minecraft-related TV shows; however, Mojang stated that they would only engage in such projects when "the right idea comes along".[70] By February 2014, Persson revealed that Mojang was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures regarding a Minecraft film[71][72] and, by that October, it was "in its early days of development".[73][74] The film was scheduled for release on 24 May 2019, and was going to be directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jason Fuchs.[75][76] Levy later dropped out and was replaced by Rob McElhenney.[77][78] In August 2018, McElhenney left the film and Fuchs was replaced with Aaron and Adam Nee, resulting in its release date getting delayed.[79] According to McElhenney, he had been drawn to the film based on the open world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially been in agreement with and provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget for. In 2016, early production had started on the film, including having had Steve Carell on contract for starring. At that time, Warner Bros. Pictures CEO Greg Silverman stepped down and was replaced by Toby Emmerich who had a different vision for the studio. McElhenney's Minecraft movie "slowly died on the vine", and he eventually departed the film.[80]

In January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, featuring a wholly different story from McElhenney's version.[81] The film is expected to be released in theaters on 4 March 2022.[82]

The game has inspired several officially licensed novels set in the Minecraft universe:

• Max Brooks (18 July 2017). Minecraft: The Island: An Official Minecraft Novel. Del Rey. ISBN 9780399181771.[83]
• Tracey Baptiste (10 July 2018). Minecraft: The Crash: An Official Minecraft Novel. Del Rey. ISBN 9780399180668.[84]
• Mur Lafferty (9 July 2019). Minecraft: The Lost Journals: An Official Minecraft Novel. Del Rey. ISBN 9780399180699.[84]
• Catherynne Valente (3 December 2019). Minecraft: The End: An Official Minecraft Novel. Del Rey. ISBN 9780399180729.[84]

Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game That Changed Everything is a book written by Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson (and translated by Jennifer Hawkins) about the story of Minecraft and its creator, Markus "Notch" Persson. The book was released on 17 October 2013.

A Lego set based on Minecraft called Lego Minecraft was released on 6 June 2012.[85] The set, called "Micro World", centres around the game's default player character and a creeper.[86] Mojang submitted the concept of Minecraft merchandise to Lego in December 2011 for the Lego Cuusoo program, from which it quickly received 10,000 votes by users, prompting Lego to review the concept.[87] Lego Cuusoo approved the concept in January 2012 and began developing sets based on Minecraft.[87] Two more sets based on the Nether and village areas of the game were released on 1 September 2013. A fourth Micro World set, the End, was released in June 2014. Six more, larger Lego minifigure scale, sets became available November 2014.[88]

Mojang often collaborates with Jinx, an online game merchandise store, to sell Minecraft merchandise, such as clothing, foam pickaxes, and toys of creatures in the game.[89] By May 2012, over 1 million dollars were made from Minecraft merchandise sales. T-shirts and socks were the most popular products.[70] In March 2013 Mojang signed a deal with the Egmont Group, a children's book publisher, to create Minecraft handbooks, annuals, poster books, and magazines.[90][91][92] As part for the Steve DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sakurai said that an Amiibo for Steve might be made by Nintendo in the future.[93]

Minecon (stylized as "MineCon" or "MINECON") is an official convention dedicated to Minecraft. The first one was held in November 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. All 4,500 tickets for MineCon 2011 were sold out by 31 October.[94] The event included the official launch of Minecraft; keynote speeches, including one by Persson; building and costume contests; Minecraft-themed breakout classes; exhibits by leading gaming and Minecraft-related companies; commemorative merchandise; and autograph and picture times with Mojang employees and well-known contributors from the Minecraft community.[95] After MineCon, there was an Into The Nether after-party with deadmau5.[96] Free codes were given to every attendee of MineCon that unlocked alpha versions of Mojang's Scrolls, as well as an additional non-Mojang game, Cobalt, developed by Oxeye Game Studios.[97] Similar events occurred in MineCon 2012, which took place in Disneyland Paris from in November.[98] The tickets for the 2012 event sold out in less than two hours.[99] MineCon 2013 was held in Orlando in November as well.[100][101] MineCon 2015 was held in London in July.[102] MineCon 2016 was held in Anaheim in September.[103] MineCon 2017 was held as a livestream instead of being held at a show floor. Titled "MINECON Earth", it was streamed live in November.[104]

MineCon Earth 2018 followed the same format as the 2017 event, but was renamed in 2019 to "MINECON Live" to avoid confusion with Mojang's augmented-reality game, Minecraft Earth.

In MineCon Live 2019, Mojang announced a new convention, called Minecraft Festival. It was announced would be an in-person event to be held 25–27 September 2020, in Orlando, Florida. The event has been postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[105][106][107]

On 3 September 2020, it was announced by Mojang that a new livestreamed event would be taking place to replace the postponed Minecraft Festival.[107] It took place on 3 October 2020,[108] showing the features of Minecraft's "Caves and Cliffs" update.[109]