Minecraft sales ‘top 176 million’
Microsoft releases updated figure as game celebrates its tenth anniversary
Minecraft sales have exceeded 176 million units, according to owner Microsoft.
The updated sales figure was released today to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the PC version’s release.
Now available on a host of platforms, Minecraft is one of the most successful games in history.
To coincide with the 30th anniversary of Tetris in June 2014, it was widely reported that with 170 million copies sold, the puzzle game was the best-selling game of all time.
The headline announcement from today’s Minecraft anniversary celebrations was Minecraft Earth, a new free-to-play AR mobile game for the Pokémon Go generation.
The game’s mechanics are simple, Microsoft says: “Explore your neighbourhood to find blocks and unique mobs for your builds. Once you have them, any flat surface is an opportunity to build.
“Team up with friends to create amazing builds on Build Plates, and then place them in the real world to explore at life-size. You can even put your survival skills to the test and battle mobs IRL. Craft new items, breed mobs, grow crops – it’s Minecraft as you know it in a way you’ve never seen before. ”
Microsoft acquired Minecraft studio Mojang and the game’s intellectual property rights for $2.5 billion in 2014.
Last month, Mojang announced a March 4, 2022 release date for the live-action Minecraft movie.