Minecraft

This article is about the video game. For the franchise, see Minecraft (franchise). For the Java Edition game data folder, see .minecraft. For the edition that uses the title "Minecraft", see Bedrock Edition. For other uses, see Minecraft (disambiguation).

Minecraft
Author(s)	Mojang Studios (Credits) Xbox Game Studios (Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education) SkyBox Labs (Bedrock Edition) 4J Studios (Legacy Console Edition) Other Ocean Interactive (New Nintendo 3DS Edition) NetEase (China Edition)
Platform(s)	Java Edition Bedrock Edition Native Backward-compatible Minecraft Education China Edition Java Edition Bedrock Edition Minecraft Classic 🌐 Web browser
Written in	(Java Edition) (Bedrock & Education) (Minecraft Classic)
Latest release	Java Edition: 1.20.2 Bedrock Edition: 1.20.30 (beta 1.20.40.22) (Preview 1.20.40.22) Minecraft Education: 1.20.12
Release date	Java Edition May 17, 2009 (Classic) December 23, 2009 (Indev) February 27, 2010 (Infdev) June 30, 2010 (Alpha) December 20, 2010 (Beta) November 18, 2011 (Release) Minecraft 4k December 2, 2009 Bedrock Edition Android: August 16, 2011 iOS: November 16, 2011 Fire OS: April 2, 2014 Fire Phone: July 25, 2014 Galaxy Store: Unknown Windows Phone 8.1: December 10, 2014 Windows: July 29, 2015 Gear VR: April 27, 2016 Oculus Rift: August 15, 2016 ChromeOS: September 2016 tvOS & Fire TV: December 19, 2016 Windows 10 Mobile: February 22, 2017 Xbox One: September 20, 2017 Windows Mixed Reality: November 21, 2017 Nintendo Switch: June 21, 2018 iPadOS: September 24, 2019 PlayStation 4: December 10, 2019 PlayStation VR: September 22, 2020 ChromeOS: June 7, 2023 MinecraftEdu November 5, 2011 Legacy Console Edition Xbox 360: May 9, 2012 Xbox One: September 5, 2014 PS3: December 17, 2013 PS4: September 4, 2014 PS Vita & PS TV: October 14, 2014 Wii U: December 17, 2015 Nintendo Switch: May 11, 2017 Pi Edition February 11, 2013 Minecraft Education November 1, 2016 China Edition August 8, 2017 New Nintendo 3DS Edition September 13, 2017 Minecraft Classic May 7, 2019
Rating(s)	See Java Edition, Bedrock Edition, Minecraft Education, China Edition
Size	See Java Edition, Bedrock Edition, Minecraft Education, China Edition
License	Terms of Use
Source code	Java Edition: Partial Bedrock/Education/China: No
Website	minecraft.net

“	Prepare for an adventure of limitless possibilities as you build, mine, battle mobs, and explore the ever-changing Minecraft landscape.	„
	— minecraft.net on Minecraft

Key art by Mojang Studios

Minecraft is a 3D sandbox game created by Swedish game developer Markus "Notch" Persson. It is maintained by Mojang Studios, a part of Xbox Game Studios, which in turn is part of Microsoft.

From its creation, Minecraft was developed almost exclusively by Notch until Jens "Jeb" Bergensten started working with him and has since become head of its development. It features music by Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld, Kumi Tanioka, Lena Raine and Aaron Cherof, as well as paintings by Kristoffer Zetterstrand. Initially released as what is now known as Minecraft Classic on May 17, 2009, the game was fully released on November 18, 2011. Since its release, Minecraft has expanded to mobile devices and consoles. On November 6, 2014, Minecraft and all of Mojang Studios' assets were acquired by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion. Notch has since left Mojang and is no longer working on Minecraft.

Minecraft focuses on allowing the player to explore, interact with and modify a dynamically-generated map made of one-cubic-meter-sized blocks. In addition to blocks, the environment features plants, mobs and items. Some activities in the game include building, mining for ore, fighting hostile mobs and crafting new blocks and tools by gathering various resources found in the game. The game's open-ended model allows players to create structures, creations and artwork on various competitive or collaborative multiplayer servers or their single-player maps. Other features include redstone circuits for logic computations and remote actions, minecarts and tracks, and a mysterious underworld called the Nether. A designated but completely optional goal of the game is to travel to a dimension called the End and defeat the ender dragon.

Purchase and availability

Official Minecraft Trailer

Java Edition can be purchased from minecraft.net and Microsoft Store. Gift codes can be bought for others, for the same price as buying the game for oneself. The demo version can be played for free. Java Edition can not run on Windows RT, ChromiumOS/ChromeOS (unless "Linux development environment" is turned on), or on some non-PC devices that use Java, such as a car, a toaster, or an Android device.

Bedrock Edition can be purchased on Google Play (ChromeOS & Android), the Apple App Store (iOS & iPadOS), the Amazon Appstore (Fire), minecraft.net (Windows), Microsoft Store (Windows & Xbox One), Nintendo eShop (Nintendo Switch), and PlayStation Store (PlayStation 4).

Alternatively, Xbox Game Pass for Console provides access to Bedrock Edition on Xbox consoles, PC Game Pass provides access to Java Edition on PC and Bedrock Edition on Windows PCs, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate provides access to Java Edition on PC and Bedrock Edition on Windows PCs and Xbox consoles.

Legacy Console Edition can be purchased on physical media (excluding Nintendo Switch Edition) or on the respective platform's store, including Xbox Games Store for Xbox 360 Edition. The PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita editions can only be purchased through the console. The Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch editions are no longer available for direct digital purchase.

The North American version of New Nintendo 3DS Edition can be purchased on physical media. It is no longer available for direct digital purchase.

Minecraft Classic can be played at classic.minecraft.net for free.

Gameplay

Main article: Gameplay

A newly created Minecraft world.

Player

Main article: Player

One of the nine default player characters, called Steve.

The player is the person that the user controls in the world. When the user starts a game, the player is put in a world, generated from a random or specified seed, with an empty inventory. If the bonus chest option is enabled, a chest filled with basic items generates near the player. The player has a health bar with 10 hearts and can be depleted when they are damaged. Damage to health can be mitigated by armor or the Resistance effect; while health can be restored by keeping the hunger bar full enough or by drinking specific potions. If the difficulty is set to Peaceful, health regenerates on its own.

Each player can have a unique look via 9 default skins, or by creating their own custom skin. A player can change their skin on the profile page of minecraft.net or in the Minecraft Launcher in Java Edition and in the pause or main menus on Bedrock Edition.

Blocks

Main article: Block

A building based on a Greek acropolis.

The world of Minecraft takes place within a three-dimensional grid of cubes, with each cube being occupied by a certain type of block, not all of which are necessarily cubic. There are different types of blocks; natural blocks such as grass, stone and ores that generate randomly within the world. There are also blocks that players can craft, such as a crafting table and a furnace. Resources can be extracted from blocks by hand or by using tools. Some of these resources are simply blocks in the player's inventory that can be placed elsewhere, while others are used as material to create other blocks or tools. Others yield no practical use whatsoever. Some blocks cannot be broken through normal Survival means, e.g. bedrock, end portal frames, command blocks, nether and end portals, barriers and air.

Mining

Main article: Mining

Various ores (in proximity of lava) that can be mined with a pickaxe.

Mining is one of the main aspects of Minecraft and is done to extract ore and other materials mainly from below the surface of the map. These ores include coal, iron, gold, redstone, diamond, lapis lazuli, copper and emerald. Mining can involve digging a hole from the surface or going down through a cave. Mineshafts and ravines create extra areas that may contain resources, since they are usually rich in ores.

Crafting and smelting

Main articles: Crafting and Smelting

A crafting table is used to create most of the blocks and items in Minecraft.

Crafting allows players to create new tools and blocks using items from their inventory. Subsequent versions often contain crafting recipes for new blocks and items. A player can use the 2×2 grid in the inventory or the 3×3 grid provided by a crafting table to craft. Smelting requires a furnace in addition to fuel and processes blocks into a more useful form such as from raw iron into iron ingots, which can then be crafted into iron tools and iron armor.

Brewing and enchanting

Main articles: Brewing and Enchanting

An enchanting table with glyphs being absorbed into it.

Brewing creates potions from various ingredients and water using a brewing stand. They are stored in a glass bottle and then consumed by the player or thrown at other mobs to generate a certain effect based on the magical ingredients used to create the potion. Enchanting is also used to upgrade armor, tools or weapons with an enchanting table or anvil. More powerful enchantments can be accessed by gaining experience and placing bookshelves around the enchanting table.

Mobs

Main article: Mobs

A creeper in a forest. Creepers stalk the player and then explode once they get near.

Mobs (short for "mobiles") are the animals and other creatures that inhabit the map. Hostile mobs attack the player while passive mobs do not. Neutral mobs attack when provoked (not all neutral mobs are provoked the same way).

The Overworld contains many passive mobs that may be killed for food or bred with one another; these include:

• Pigs: drop raw porkchops upon death and can be ridden using a saddle and holding a carrot on a stick.
• Cows: drop raw beef upon death and can be milked using a bucket.
• Sheep: drop raw mutton and 1 wool upon death and can be sheared to produce 1–3 wools.
• Chickens: drop raw chicken and feathers upon death and lay eggs.
• Horses: drop leather upon death and can be ridden using a saddle, traveling much faster than pigs.
• Rabbits: drop rabbit meat, hide and its foot, a brewing item.
• Bats: ambient mobs that fly around caves.
• Fish: passive ambient mobs that drop diverse items such as food or bones (bone meal in Java Edition)

Mobs that drop food drop the raw version of their food unless killed while on fire.

Common hostile mobs found throughout the Overworld include:

• Zombies: attack by melee damage.
• Skeletons: wields a bow and shoots infinitely many arrows.
• Spiders: leap large distances and climb walls.
• Witches: uses potions and are almost immune to many effects.
• Creepers: explode when near the player.
• Endermen: are tall and black creatures with purple eyes which turn aggressive when the player looks at them if they are not wearing a carved pumpkin.

The Overworld also contains some rarer mobs that spawn only on occasion or in specific biomes, places or times:

• Spider jockeys: a skeleton riding a spider.
• Chicken jockeys: a baby zombie riding a chicken.
• Slimes: spawn deep within the map and in swamplands.
• Villagers: inhabit villages and can trade with the player.
• Cats: can be tamed and inhabit villages or swamp huts.
• Parrots: spawn in jungles and can imitate the sounds of nearby hostile mobs.
• Wolves: can be tamed by the player and attack enemy mobs if the player engages or is attacked by them.
• Llamas: can store items and form caravans.
• Mooshrooms: mushroom-covered cows that spawn in mushroom fields biomes.
• Vindicators: spawn in woodland mansions and raids and wields a iron axe.
• Pillagers: spawn in pillager outposts and raids and wields a crossbow.
• Evokers: spawn in woodland mansions and raids.
• Phantoms: spawn when the player hasn't slept for three in-game days.
• Pandas: spawn in jungles but are more common in bamboo jungles, and have different personalities.
• Camels: spawn in desert villages and are tall enough for the rider to not be attacked by most mobs.

Some are found exclusively in the Nether, including:

• Ghasts: flying ghosts that shoot exploding fireballs at the player.
• Zombified piglins: wield golden swords and attack in hordes if provoked.
• Piglins: can be bartered with gold ingots to provide ingredients or blocks and attacks the player if they are not wearing one set of gold armor.
• Wither skeletons: tall skeletons that wield stone swords that inflict the wither effect and drop coal or, occasionally, wither skeleton skulls that can be used to summon an optional boss: the wither.
• Blazes: shoot fireballs at players and hover above the ground.
• Magma cubes: similar to Overworld slimes, but they are fire resistant and do more damage.
• Striders: are the only passive mobs naturally spawning in the Nether, which can walk on lava and can be saddled and ridden with a warped fungus on a stick.

The End contains the ender dragon, which is the main boss mob in Minecraft and allows the player to exit back to the Overworld when it dies, as well as shulkers, block-like mobs that shoot homing bullets at the player which inflict the Levitation effect. They also drop their shells, allowing the player to craft shulker boxes.

Withers are the second boss mob in Minecraft and are created by the player by placing wither skeleton skulls on top of soul sand or soul soil in a specific pattern. When spawned, they shoot wither skulls at nearby non-undead mobs, while also causing any mob hit by the skulls to get the Wither effect.

The Nether

Main article: The Nether

The Nether.

The Nether is a dimension in Minecraft accessible from the Overworld by a nether portal. It consists of five unique biomes, which are the nether wastes, the basalt deltas, the crimson and warped forests and the soul sand valleys. Each biome has unique generation and terrain. It is populated by zombified piglins, blazes, ghasts, wither skeletons, magma cubes, piglins and hoglins. Ores in the Nether include nether quartz, nether gold and ancient debris. The Nether also has large oceans of lava that have striders walking on them.

The End

Main article: The End

The End.

The End is another dimension of the game where the player battles the ender dragon. The End is accessed by entering an end portal found in a stronghold. The End is composed of end stone and is inhabited by endermen. It also contains tall obsidian pillars on top of which are end crystals that heal the ender dragon. Once the ender dragon is slain, the exit portal is created in the center of the map and an end gateway portal is created near an edge of the map, which transports the player to the expansive outer End islands which are full of chorus fruit forests and end cities filled of chest loot and shulkers. The end gateway portal is only accessed by throwing an ender pearl, using elytra or trapdoors‌ to enter the portal. There are no ores in the End.

Multiplayer (Java)

Main articles: Server and Multiplayer

PvP (player vs player) on a multiplayer server.

Minecraft multiplayer servers have developed to include their own rules and customs, guided by their administrators and moderators. The term griefer, meaning a player who causes grief, is a typical term on the internet but has taken up its definition on Minecraft servers: a person who destroys or defiles other users' creations on servers.

Griefers are the reason many server administrators make rules, but this has been taken a step further with modifications to the Minecraft server and even plugin-based replacement servers such as Bukkit. Because of these plugin-based servers, new user-created features have shown up in Minecraft. This includes features like money, vehicles, protection, RPG elements and more. These features normally do not require modification to a user's client and can be accessed by using chat commands. With the default controls, the chat screen is brought up by pressing T.

One popular game on multiplayer servers is Spleef (a play on the word "grief"), a game where the player aims to make another player drop through the floor by destroying blocks beneath the opponent's feet. This is typically played in a designated area and is usually run automatically using server plugins.

Many popular multiplayer servers exist that may contain, PvP arenas, custom minigames or large Survival or Creative worlds.

Multiplayer (Bedrock)

Multiplayer in Bedrock Edition differs from multiplayer on the Java Edition in that it is centered around a friend system. A player can add friends through the Friends tab in the menu or in the pause screen of a world. A player may invite friends to a world instead of having to pay for a server or realm. Minecraft has featured servers on Bedrock, which means that they are available when opening the game. There are six featured servers: The Hive, CubeCraft, Lifeboat, Mineville, Galaxite, and Pixel Paradise.

Minecraft Realms

Main article: Realms

Minecraft Realms is an official subscription-based server hosting service that allows players to create and manage their own private Minecraft multiplayer worlds. Hosted by Mojang Studios, Realms provides an easy and fast way to create servers and allows the owner to manage them from inside the game, without prior knowledge of the concepts for hosting on the internet. However, Realms are not intended for large public servers, but for groups of friends or as a family server. Private Realms servers are easy to set up and available 24/7 as long as the owner pays for it.

Editions

Minecraft sales data, up to December, 2015.

Main article: Edition

Java Edition

Main article: Java Edition

The original platform for Minecraft, running on Windows, macOS, and Linux and started through the Minecraft Launcher. The game was initially released for an "early private singleplayer alpha" on May 17, 2009, followed by several development stages (notably Classic, Indev, Infdev, Alpha, Beta) with the game finally being released on November 18, 2011. The Java Edition has seen many significant updates since its official release.

Bedrock Edition

Main article: Bedrock Edition

Notch with Minecraft: Pocket Edition.

The Bedrock Edition (also known as the Bedrock Platform, Bedrock Codebase or Bedrock Engine) refers to the multi-platform family of editions of Minecraft developed by Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. Prior to this term, as the engine originated with Minecraft: Pocket Edition, this entire product family has been referred to using as "Pocket Edition", "MCPE" or "Pocket/Windows 10 Edition".

Minecraft, with no subtitle, is the title of all Bedrock editions of Minecraft. Before the Better Together Update, it had different subtitles on different platforms including Pocket Edition (for all mobile platforms), Console Edition, Windows 10 Edition, Gear VR Edition, and Fire TV Edition.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition was initially launched exclusively for the Xperia PLAY on Google Play for US$6.99 on August 16, 2011. It was later released for other Android devices on October 7, 2011, and iOS on November 17, 2011. On September 13, 2012, the Pocket Edition was made available for purchase on the Amazon Appstore. The Windows Phone version was released on the Windows Phone Store on December 10, 2014, for which the Pocket Edition 1.0.0 release and newer are available only for Windows 10 Phone and newer. Since then, four adaptations of Pocket Edition have been released; for Windows 10 on July 29, 2015, the Gear VR on April 27, 2016, tvOS on December 19, 2016, and the Fire TV on December 19, 2016. As of September 24, 2018, the Apple TV Edition has been discontinued.

Legacy Console Edition

Main article: Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition refers to the editions of Minecraft for consoles that are developed and updated by 4J Studios.

The Legacy Console Edition was initially announced for the Xbox 360 on June 7, 2011, during E3 2011. Xbox 360 Edition released digitally on May 9, 2012 followed by a physical release on June 4, 2013. The game was later released on additional platforms as PlayStation 3 Edition on December 17, 2013, PlayStation 4 Edition on September 4, 2014, Xbox One Edition on September 5, 2014, PlayStation Vita Edition on October 14, 2014, Wii U Edition on December 17, 2015, and Nintendo Switch Edition on May 11, 2017. As of December 10, 2019, no further feature updates have been released for these versions, and the newest available update depends on the platform. The most recent update on Xbox One Edition and Nintendo Switch Edition is the World of Color Update, while Xbox 360 Edition, PlayStation 3 Edition, PlayStation Vita Edition, and Wii U Edition have access to Update Aquatic. PlayStation 4 Edition is the most up-to-date version with Village & Pillage.

Minecraft Education

Main article: Minecraft Education

Minecraft Education is an educational version of Minecraft specifically designed for classroom use. It is developed by Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios and contains features that make Minecraft easy to use in a classroom setting. The full game was released on November 1, 2016.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

Main article: New Nintendo 3DS Edition

Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition was released on September 13, 2017 for the New Nintendo 3DS/2DS systems. It is a unique port developed by Other Ocean Interactive. Multiplayer is limited to local play. This edition was discontinued on January 15, 2019.

Other

There are a number of other versions of Minecraft. Minecraft 4k is a simple version of Minecraft in the style of other "4k" Java games (everything is packaged in 4 kibibytes) that Notch has entered in contests. Minecraft: Pi Edition was a free ported version of the 0.5.0 version of Pocket Edition for the Raspberry Pi, which was intended as an educational tool for novice programmers. It allowed users to manipulate the game code and supported multiple programming languages; however, it was discontinued in January 2016. Minecraft: China Edition is a localized version of Minecraft for mainland China.

Edition comparison

Edition	Price (USD)	Developer	Platforms	Buy	Trial/Download	Input methods	Account type	Skin changes	Support	Notes
Java Edition	$29.99 – $39.99	Mojang Studios	Windows, macOS, and Linux	minecraft.net and Microsoft Store	minecraft.net	Keyboard and mouse	Legacy Minecraft, Mojang, and Microsoft	Free, user-created	Minecraft Help Center	The original version of Minecraft. Access to occasional test updates known as snapshots.
Bedrock Edition	$6.99 – $39.99	Mojang Studios Xbox Game Studios 4J Studios SkyBox Labs	Windows, ChromeOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, Fire, Xbox One/Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS VR, & PS5	minecraft.net, Microsoft (Windows & Xbox), Google, Apple, Amazon, Nintendo, and PlayStation stores	Microsoft (Windows only), Google, and PlayStation stores	Keyboard & mouse, gamepad, and touchscreen	Microsoft (for achievements and servers), Nintendo (for online play), and Sony (for online play)	Free, user-created, via in-app purchase, or via Xbox network	Minecraft Help Center Xbox Support	Cross-platform local server multiplayer. Windows, ChromeOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, & Xbox users have access to occasional test updates known as betas/previews.
Minecraft Education	$5.04 – $12 per user per year	Mojang Studios Xbox Game Studios 4J Studios	Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, iOS, & iPadOS	education.minecraft.net and the Apple App Store	education.minecraft.net, Microsoft, Google, and Apple stores	Keyboard & mouse, gamepad, and touchscreen	Office 365 Education and Microsoft 365	Free, user-created	Minecraft Education Community Hub	Designed for teaching. Based on Bedrock Edition.
China Edition	Free	Mojang Studios Xbox Game Studios NetEase	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, & iPadOS	N/A	mc.163.com, TapTap, and Apple stores	Keyboard & mouse, gamepad, and touchscreen	NetEase	Free, user-created, or via in-app purchase	gm.163.com	Transplanted from Java and Bedrock editions.

Game customization

Add-ons

Main article: Add-on

Add-ons‌ are the first step toward bringing customization to all editions of Minecraft and are officially supported by Mojang Studios/Minecraft. They currently allow players to transform the look of their worlds, change the behavior of mobs, and add entities, items and blocks, structures, functions and biomes.

Behavior packs

Behavior packs‌ change how vanilla mobs and fogs behave. They are still in development, and will soon also be able to modify how blocks and items work.

Resource packs

Main article: Resource pack

The game officially supports changing most of its various textures, sounds, and texts through resource packs. Resource packs must contain a certain structure of files and folders placed in the .minecraft/resourcepacks folder. Installed resource packs, as well as the folder in which resource packs are placed, can be accessed in the options menu. The extent to which the resources are changed is dependent on how many files are contained in the resource pack.

Data packs

Main article: Data pack

Data packs‌ provide a way for players to further customize vanilla worlds in a similar way to resource packs. Unlike resource packs, which modify the game's resources, data packs can be used to override or add new advancements, functions, loot tables, structures, recipes and tags without any code modification.

Skins

Main article: Skin

Skin refers to the texture that is placed onto a player model or mob. The skin is divided into areas that act as the surface area of the character (for example, the front head area, left leg area, etc.). A skin allows only solid color; transparency is not allowed on the skin file except on the second layer, which is transparent by default; playing offline, pixels can be left free resulting in "holes" in the skin. The second layer can be used to give the character glasses, hats, or other accessories. Players can also change the arm size to be slim or normal. The slim variant is 3 pixels wide while the normal variant is 4 pixels wide.

Java Edition

in Java Edition, there are no special features in the skins. This version has only the features listed in the first part of this section.

Bedrock Edition

in Bedrock Edition, there are many more types of skin customization. Players can add 3D custom hair, eyes, mouths, arms, legs and more. Players can also change the size of a character. Players can also get many different accessories for the skin. However, the player cannot do this with a custom skin, only with an in-game skin. Players can also buy accessories and skins. Having a skin that is smaller than normal or larger does not affect the hitbox size, but can still give an advantage in multiplayer servers because it can be harder to see them. Some of the skins also do not show their armor or hand-held items.

Capes

Main article: Cape

Capes are an uncommon vanity item that can be equipped on a player's back. in Bedrock Edition, players start with a cape that is not equipped by default and some skins come with capes.

Capes also flail around when the player runs. When the player equips elytra, the texture of the elytra changes to an equipped cape.

Unofficial mods

Main article: Mods

Minecraft can be modified by replacing or adding Java class files to minecraft.jar in Java Edition. This method of making custom modifications is not supported by Mojang as it can break the game if the mod is outdated, defective, or in conflict with another mod. Some such modifications impressed Notch or Jeb sufficiently that they were added to the game and the authors were credited under Additional Programming. Some examples of mods being implemented into the main game include Hippoplatimus' Piston Mod and horses from Dr. Zhark's Mo' Creatures mod were added in Beta 1.7 and 1.6.1 respectively.

Third-party programs

Main article: Programs and editors

There are many programs designed for Minecraft. These include 3D map editors and viewers, game modifiers, various informational programs (such as crafting recipes) and server wrappers, and other specialty programs. As with mods, these too are not supported by Mojang.

Reception

Metacritic ranked Minecraft as one of the best video games of the 2010s, and Video Game Canon ranks Minecraft as one of the best games of all time.

Awards

Mojang Studios' trophies.

Since release Minecraft has won numerous awards including:

• PC Gamer's "Game of the Year"
• Independent Games Festival's Grand Prize and "Audience Award"
• Good Game's "Best Downloadable Game of 2010"
• Rock Paper Shotgun's "Game of the Year"
• Indie DB's "Indie of the Year", "Most Innovative and Best Singleplayer Indie"
• Game Developers Choice Awards's "Best Debut Game", "Best Downloadable Game" and "Most Innovative Game Award"

References in popular culture

Many references have been made in culture in response to the popularity of Minecraft, this includes many memes and also references in these video games, TV shows, and movies.

Video games

• In Super Meat Boy, Steve? is an unlockable character. He is known as Mr. Minecraft in this game.
• In Battlefield Heroes, players could get a Royal Minecraft T-Shirt or a National Minecraft T-Shirt from the 29th to the 31st of July, 2011.
• In Team Fortress 2, there is a hat called Top Notch that resembles Notch's avatar in a cubic form. Notch is the only person to have this hat.
• In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Binding of Isaac, an item called the "Notched Pickaxe" can be found and used, referencing the game's creator Notch and the pickaxes that feature prominently in Minecraft.
• In The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth, there is another item called "Mine Crafter" based on TNT. The item "TNT" in Soul Knight is also based on Minecraft TNT.
• In ChopLifter HD, there is a hidden island with Steve and chickens in the "Operation Charlie Takedown" mission. When he is saved, players unlock an in-game achievement. It should be noted that Steve is called "Blockhead" in this game.
• In the PlayStation 3 game, PixelJunk Shooter 2, there's a small Creeper in the title screen hidden among other enemies native to Shooter 2.
• In Borderlands 2, there is a hidden section of the game with blocks in the style of Minecraft's stone and breakable ore blocks. There are also enemy Creepers in this same area. One of the Creepers also can drop two Minecraft themed weapons, including a Sniper Rifle which fires projectiles shaped like the arrows featured in Minecraft.
• In Torchlight 2, there is an area called "Notch's Mine." In it are Creepers, that can be killed for loot. There are also hidden swords in the game with the same graphics as swords in Minecraft.
• In Patch 1.13 of Awesomenauts, one of the new skins for the character Clunk was added known as Creeper Clunk. It is unlocked by killing a player using the Creeper Clunk skin.
• A vehicle card in Dusk of D.A.W.N. is called "Mine Craft". The description at the bottom says "The Mine Craft is truly top-notch". Notch's X picture is hidden on the card.
• One of the many paths in The Stanley Parable eventually takes the player to a Minecraft world. The world is removed in Ultra Deluxe, but have a photo in Memory Zone.
• In Plague Inc, a popular multiplatform game, there is a chance for a message in the news to appear with the headline: "Top notch mine opens in Sweden" and the caption "Miners and crafters look forward to the opening of a new, top notch diamond mine which is expected to revitalize the Swedish economy". This is a reference to the value of diamonds, Notch, Mojang's headquarters in Sweden, and the game itself. Other messages include "Creeper arrested for destruction of virtual property" and "Microsoft saves sheepish miner, rides into sunset", which refers Microsoft's acquisition.
• In Terraria, there is a wearable creeper costume.
• In Cookie Clicker, the name of achievement "Never dig down" is a reference a well-known Minecraft tip.
• In The Henry Stickmin Collection, there are multiple references to Minecraft throughout the chapters.
  • In the prologue, Breaking the Bank, if the player chooses the "shovel" option, Henry tries to get inside the bank by digging under the walls, but hits and ignites a gas main; the failure message is "Never dig straight down.", a well-known Minecraft tip.
  • In chapter 2, Stealing the Diamond, if the player selects the "sneak in" option and then the "pickaxe", Henry begins to mine the wall of the museum the diamond is in, only for a creeper to come up behind him and explode. Henry survives, however, and the explosion gave the entrance that Henry needed.
  • In chapter 5, Completing the Mission, there are multiple references to Minecraft throughout the routes.
    • If the player launches with the "Government Supported Private Investigator" and "Convict Allies" ending, and then selects the "jetpack" option, the player can select the "build" option, in which Henry begins building a bridge out of dirt blocks from the building he is standing on to the Toppat rocket. However, Henry runs out of dirt blocks and accidentally walks off the edge, and falls to his death, dropping a stick, steak and leather boots, with the fail message saying "You died!", similar to the Minecraft death screen.
    • If the player launches with the "Pure Blooded Thief" and "Presumed Dead" ending, and then selects the "Stop" option, then does nothing, then selects the "Spiked Wheels" and "Hammer (Left)" options, Henry attempting to "mine" glass in a similar manner to Minecraft, but he is shot down. Additionally, if player selects "Hammer (Right)" then does nothing, Henry's rocket runs out of fuel and falls back to the ground, with the fail message saying "Return to Sender", may related with the Minecraft achievement.
    • If the player launches with the "Government Supported Private Investigator" and "Ghost Inmate" ending, and then selects the "Magic Hat" and "Free Transform" options, the player can select the "Leafmöde" option, and a diamond block can be seen near the painting and a diamond helmet can be seen somewhere.
• In Epic Battle Fantasy 4 there is dialogue in the Crystal Cave that alludes to Minecraft. A snowman in Whitefall Town is in the form of a Creeper. In the expansion and the Steam version, you will encounter the Diamond Golem. Matt would like to use this to make a diamond sword.
• In The Talos Principle, there is a hidden easter egg room that contains various well-known blocks from games, including the grass block from Minecraft.
• In Life is Strange 2 one of the characters plays Minecraft. There are also other references to Minecraft throughout the game.
• In There Is No Game : Wrong Dimension, there is a RPG Dimension called Legend of the Secret and its Free2Play variant Legend of the Secret: Ultimate Clicker V.I.P. Edition Deluxe 4.2 Free with lootboxes that contain parody ads. One of those ads is Ninecraft with C418-like BGM, and player can break the title, get nine puzzle pieces and combine them in a 3x3 grid to make a pickaxe useful in gameplay. Game (a narrator-like character) comments on Ninecraft as "another one of those 'indie games' that's doomed to fail".
• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Steve, Alex, a zombie, and an enderman are featured fighters included in its DLC, as well as themed stages and remixed music.
• In Genshin Impact, the blacksmith in Mondstadt, named 'Wagner', gives the player a quest called "Mine Craft".
• In Transformice, there is a wearable creeper mask, diamond pickaxe, diamond sword, and Moobloom fur.

TV shows and movies

• In season 17 of South Park, the 2nd episode depicted a kid teaching Minecraft to adults.
• In the The Walking Deceased movie trailer, the Minecraft zombie sound can be heard at 0:30.
• In season 25 of The Simpsons, the 17th episode had a couch gag known as SimCraft, complete with Bartender Moe as a creeper blowing up the house.
• In Season 3 Episode 10 of Rick and Morty, the title characters mention or are seen playing Minecraft throughout parts of the episode.
  • In Season 4 Episode 3, Rick returns to the game by opening a laptop and saying "Ok now I'm going to play some more Minecraft".
• In Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg), the opening scene in the Oasis shows a Minecraft planet.
• In season 10 of Adventure Time, the episode Diamonds and Lemons portrays the characters in a Minecraft-like universe.
• A model of a Spider-Man Minecraft skin made of fusible plastic beads can be seen in the background in the movie Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Gallery

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  Minecraft
  game logo

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  Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC logo

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  Minecraft square key art with old logo.

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  Minecraft vertical
  key art

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  Minecraft vertical key art with old logo.

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  Minecraft horizontal
  key art

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  Minecraft horizontal key art without logo 1.

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  Minecraft horizontal key art without logo 2.

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  Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC square
  key art

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  Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC vertical
  key art

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  Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC horizontal key art

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  Minecraft: Deluxe Collection square key art

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  Minecraft: Deluxe Collection vertical key art

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  Minecraft: Deluxe Collection horizontal
  key art

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  Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition Deluxe Collection square key art

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  Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition Deluxe Collection vertical key art

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  Minecraft Preview
  square key art

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  Minecraft Preview
  vertical key art

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  Minecraft Preview horizontal key art

In other media

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  Minecraft X profile image

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  An official poster made by J!NX.

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  An official poster made by SamCube.

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  An official poster made by SamCube.