Overview
- Markus “Notch”Persson, the visionary behind Minecraft, is embarking on a new project that he refers to as a spiritual successor.
- Persson sold Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property to Microsoft in 2014, making an official sequel improbable unless it receives Microsoft’s endorsement.
- Despite these restrictions, Persson suggests he has essentially unveiled “Minecraft 2,”albeit under a different title as a spiritual successor to the iconic game.
Markus “Notch”Persson, renowned for crafting the global phenomenon Minecraft, has revealed his intentions to create a spiritual successor to the game. Following the sale of Mojang to Microsoft in 2014, he lost the rights to develop an official sequel. Nonetheless, Notch plans to pursue a new project that he promises will have a different name and identity, effectively categorized as a spiritual successor.
Minecraft made its mark on the gaming world after its alpha release in 2009, culminating in the full launch in 2011. It emerged as one of the most groundbreaking indie games, leading to Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang for a staggering $2.5 billion in 2014. The game continues to thrive under Microsoft’s leadership, receiving consistent updates and selling over 300 million copies by 2023, thus earning its title as the best-selling video game of all time. Given this ongoing growth and user engagement, the idea of a direct sequel seemed far-fetched until recently.
Markus Persson Announces Spiritual Successor
In a recent Twitter post, Notch engaged his followers with a poll to determine interest in his new project, which explores traditional roguelike elements combined with first-person dungeon crawler mechanics. The poll currently shows strong support for a project dubbed “Minecraft 2,”with 77.4% of over 220,000 votes advocating for the unofficial sequel. Notch later confirmed his seriousness about the potential project, stating, “I basically announced Minecraft 2.”
Honest and legitimate request for feedback for once: The new game I’m passionately working on is currently set to be a traditional roguelike (i.e. ADOM, nethack, etc) mixed with a tile based first person dungeon crawler (ie Legend of Grimrock (esp 2), Eye of the Beholder) But… — notch (@notch) January 1, 2025
After Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang in 2014, they obtained exclusive rights to the Minecraft intellectual property. This legal framework means that any direct sequel requires Microsoft’s consent, a situation Notch acknowledged by stating, “No, it would be super illegal” when questioned about the legality of a Minecraft sequel. He clarified that his new endeavor would be an entirely original game with a unique narrative that diverges from Minecraft’s established lore.
Although many titles have attempted to replicate the essence of Minecraft, few have achieved the same level of success. Notch’s departure from Mojang severed his direct influence on the game over the past decade. Given the extensive updates that Minecraft has received since, it will be fascinating to witness the innovations and concepts Notch might introduce in his new venture, had he remained with Mojang.
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