Minecraft: Over One Million Sold

January 13, 2011 8:00 AM

We can all appreciate the soft, voluptuous and Rubenesque form of a number with many zeroes so here's another for you--Minecraft yesterday passed 1,000,000 sales.

It's undoubtedly a colossal success for a game which has yet to be released--it entered beta only last month--and was initially worked on by one single person, creator Markus 'Notch' Persson. As the half-million mark was hit in late October 2010, the dig 'em up sold that other 500,000 in a touch over two months.

While the alpha version cost only €9.95 (around $13) and guaranteed all future Minecraft updates for free, now you'll have to buy the beta version, which is priced at €14.95 ($20-ish) and only promises bug fixes for free post-launch. When the game does finally launch--expected to be "sometime late this year"--the price will go up again.

Some of the profits from Minecraft have gone towards building up Mojang Productions, Notch's studio, which continues to work on Minecraft as well as a secret new game.

Alice O'Connor

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Herra X

 reply
January 13, 2011 8:19 AM

Buying beta also gives the full game free when it launches.
- Sideways Bob
  
   reply
  January 13, 2011 8:38 AM
  
  It does? I thought that went away with Alpha.
  - Haxim
    
     reply
    January 13, 2011 8:39 AM
    
    You get the full game free, just not any updates past that (like expansion packs or whatnot if he decides to go that route). Notch had to change the wording when he entered beta because the lawyers were getting antsy IIRC.
    - Zek
      
       reply
      January 13, 2011 9:10 AM
      
      Not necessarily any updates past that, but there's a very good chance he'll release all the updates for free anyway.
      - Sideways Bob
        
         reply
        January 13, 2011 9:28 AM
        
        Oh, cool. I'd misunderstood.
        
        Maybe my girlfriend will end up with a copy one way or the other.
      - Gwyndion
        
         reply
        January 13, 2011 11:23 AM
        
        Yeah, it was more a cover-your-ass statement his lawyers forced him to put in there. Basically by buying either the alpha or beta you are buying the full game. And he's going to update the crap out of it.. don't worry about that. The only thing you are not covered on is... some kind of expansion packs or something. But he hasn't even discussed that he will do something like that anyways.