data/claims/minecraft-history.yamlMinecraft (history and reception)
Game: Minecraft.
The Minecraft Wiki's version history dates the Java Edition's phases: development from 10 May 2009, Classic from 17 May to 10 November 2009, Indev from 23 December 2009 to 23 February 2010, Infdev from 27 February to 30 June 2010, Alpha from 30 June to 3 December 2010, Beta from 20 December 2010 to 11 November 2011, and the official release on 18 November 2011 at MINECON 2011. The same page's Alpha section gives Alpha other ends, 29 June to 20 December 2010, and doesn't reconcile the two. minecraft-history/phases
leadJava Edition has been in constant development since May 10, 2009, when it was simply named Minecraft.Java Edition version history · leadThe next phase, what was later called Classic, lasted from May 17 to November 10, 2009.Java Edition version history · leadIndev, short for "in development", lasted from December 23, 2009, to February 23, 2010. Infdev, short for "infinite development", lasted from February 27 to June 30, 2010. Alpha lasted from June 30 to December 3, 2010, and Beta lasted from December 20, 2010, all the way through to November 11, 2011. The official release of Minecraft (Java Edition) came on November 18, 2011, at MINECON 2011Java Edition version history · AlphaThe Alpha development phase started on June 29, 2010, and ended on December 20, 2010.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
The earliest public version the Minecraft Wiki lists, Classic 0.0.11a, is dated 17 May 2009; the earlier 0.0.9a and 0.0.10a were a private alpha. The full release of the Java Edition followed on 18 November 2011 on PC and Mac. minecraft-history/release
leadInitially released as what is now known as Minecraft Classic on May 17, 2009, the game was fully released on November 18, 2011 on PC and MacJava Edition version history · Classic, version table — the row reads 0.0.11a, May 17, 2009; the next table, headed Private alpha, lists 0.0.10a (May 17, 2009) and 0.0.9a (May 16, 2009)0.0.11aJava Edition version history · Classic, Private alphaMain article: Java Edition Classic private alphaJava Edition version history · Java Edition, full releaseThe full release stage of Minecraft: Java Edition's development started on November 18, 2011Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureNo Mojang post giving the release day was found; Persson's MINECON diary of the next day describes the launch without a date. The wiki is the source for the day.
Cited by: Minecraft
On 11 December 2010 Persson announced that Minecraft would reach Beta on 20 December 2010, and said that early in Beta they would start adding "proper modding support with a stable API". minecraft-history/beta
first paragraphMinecraft will reach Beta status on December 20th, 2010.Minecraft Beta: December 20, 2010 · second paragraphWith Beta comes a larger focus on polish and content, and we’ll start early on with adding proper modding support with a stable API, and we’d love all input we can get on this from the modders out there.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
The Minecraft Wiki's chronology dates Beta 1.2 to 13 January 2011, Beta 1.5 to 19 April 2011, Beta 1.8, the "Adventure Update", to 14 September 2011, and Java Edition 1.2.1 to 1 March 2012 (1.2 itself was skipped). minecraft-history/beta-versions
2011, January13 - Java: Beta 1.2 released.Chronology of events · 2011, April19 - Java: Beta 1.5 released.Chronology of events · 2011, September14 - Java: Beta 1.8 "Adventure Update" released.Chronology of events · 2012, March1 - Java: Java Edition 1.2.1 released (1.2 was skipped for practical purposes).Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureThe Minecraft Wiki says Markus "Notch" Persson developed Minecraft almost on his own until Jens "Jeb" Bergensten took over its development. minecraft-history/makers
leadFrom its creation, Minecraft was developed almost exclusively by Swedish game developer Markus "Notch" Persson until Jens "Jeb" Bergensten took place of the head of its development.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
Persson wrote on 1 December 2011 that Bergensten had become lead developer on Minecraft the day before, with the final say in all design decisions. minecraft-history/lead-handover
postAs of yesterday, Jens Bergensten is the new lead developer on Minecraft. He will have the final say in all design decisionsChecked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
Persson wrote in October 2011 that he started on Minecraft in the summer of 2009 with a top-down isometric mining game pitched as "Dwarf Fortress meets Rollercoaster Tycoon meets Dungeon Keeper", then played Infiniminer, saw that a first-person view with blocky graphics worked well, and began prototyping that. minecraft-history/origin-pitch
second paragraphI started working on Minecraft in the summer of 2009, starting with a top-down isometric mining game. The elevator pitch for the game was “Dwarf Fortress meets Rollercoaster Tycoon meets Dungeon Keeper”.Happy birthday, us! · second paragraphbut then I played a game called Infiniminer and realized the first person perspective with blocky graphics worked really well and started prototyping it.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureHis 2009 and 2010 accounts of the same start are factorio-lineage's minecraft-dwarf-fortress, -dungeon-keeper, -infiniminer, and -rollercoaster-tycoon claims.
Cited by: Dungeon Keeper, Minecraft, RollerCoaster Tycoon
Persson wrote on 16 October 2011 that Mojang had been founded a year before, when Minecraft had sold between half a million and one million copies, and that it had now sold almost four million. minecraft-history/mojang
first paragraphOne year ago, we started Mojang. Back then, Minecraft had sold between half a million and one million copies, and now we’re up to almost four million copies soldChecked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCopies of the PC game, sold during Alpha and Beta.
Cited by: Minecraft
Persson wrote on 12 January 2011 that Minecraft had passed one million sales. minecraft-history/sales-million
postMinecraft just passed one million sales.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
Persson wrote on 1 July 2011 that Minecraft had passed 10 million registered users: accounts, not copies sold. minecraft-history/registered-10m
postMinecraft just passed 10 million registered users.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
Mojang announced on 15 September 2014 that Microsoft was buying the company for 2.5 billion dollars, because Persson, its creator and majority shareholder, didn't want the responsibility of owning a company of such significance, and that the founders Notch, Carl, and Jakob were leaving. The Minecraft Wiki dates the purchase to 6 November 2014. minecraft-history/microsoft
Why did you sell Minecraft?As you might already know, Notch is the creator of Minecraft and the majority shareholder at Mojang. He’s decided that he doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance.Yes, we're being bought by Microsoft · What about the Mojang staff?The founders: Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving.Yes, we're being bought by Microsoft · How much money was the company bought for?Microsoft acquired Mojang for a smooth 2.5 BILLION dollars.Minecraft · lead — the day the purchase completed, which is the wiki's (T1)On November 6, 2014, Minecraft and all of Mojang Studios' assets were acquired by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
Eurogamer's review of 18 November 2011, by Alec Meer, scored it 10 out of 10 and called it "the defining game of the last ten years". It described the game as a block sandbox with two abilities, to create and to destroy: one mouse button gives, the other takes away. minecraft-history/eurogamer
standfirstThe defining game of the last ten years is also one of the most surprising. Minecraft is unmissable.Minecraft Review · review bodyIt's a block-based sandbox with two key player abilities: to create and to destroy. With one mouse-button you give, with the other you take away.Minecraft Review · score box — the score box reads 10 over "/10"/10Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
IGN's review of 24 November 2011, by Anthony Gallegos, scored it 9 ("amazing") with an Editors' Choice, saying no other game had unleashed his creativity like Minecraft. Gallegos also found its many recipes and items intimidating to learn and said it had no documentation at all. minecraft-history/ign
score box — beside the score 9 and EDITORS' CHOICE; the capture runs the label and word togetherReview scoringamazingMinecraft Review · verdictNo other video game has unleashed my creativity like Minecraft.Minecraft Review · review bodyThe sheer amount of recipes and items you work with in the game is intimidating and time consuming to learn. Many games have poor documentation, but Minecraft has none at allChecked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureThe capture is IGN's page as updated in 2021; the URL dates the review to 24 November 2011.
Cited by: Minecraft
PC Gamer's review of 25 December 2011, by Jaz McDougall, scored it 96, calling Minecraft a game about building things out of blocks with your friends, and noting that the magazine had already made it Game of the Year in 2010. minecraft-history/pc-gamer
verdict boxIntuitively interesting and contagiously fun, with an unparalleled scope for creativity and memorable experiences.Minecraft review · openingas if we didn't already give it Game of the Year in 2010, is a game about building things out of blocks with your friends.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
The Minecraft Wiki's awards table lists Minecraft as the winner of the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and the Audience Award at the 2011 Independent Games Festival, and of Best Debut Game at the 11th Game Developers Choice Awards, both on 2 March 2011. minecraft-history/awards-2011
Awards table, 2011 Independent Games Festival and 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards rows — row: 2011 Independent Games Festival, March 2, 2011, Minecraft, Won; the Audience Award row also reads Won, and Best Debut Game reads WonSeumas McNally Grand PrizeChecked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureThe table's reference for the IGF row is a finalists announcement; no IGF winners notice was found to pin.
Cited by: Minecraft
Risugami's mods thread on the Minecraft Forum has a first post dated 8 November 2010, last edited on 9 July 2013. As captured in 2017, that post lists mods that require ModLoader 1.6.2 and warns that they "require altering minecraft.jar". The capture doesn't show what the 2010 post said. minecraft-history/modloader
post #1Disclaimer: These mods require altering minecraft.jar, and SMP may not work with these mods installed.Risugami's Mods - Updated. (Minecraft Forum thread) · post #1, mod listRequires ModLoader 1.6.2.Risugami's Mods - Updated. (Minecraft Forum thread) · post #1, footerLast edited by Risugami: Jul 9, 2013Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureThe FAQ's ModLoader links point at a joke page by 2017. IndustrialCraft²'s 2011 post (industrialcraft-loaders) is the dated evidence that mods of that year needed Risugami's ModLoader.
Cited by: Minecraft
Alblaka's release post for IndustrialCraft² v1.23 (23 October 2011, for Minecraft Beta 1.8.1) lists as prerequisites Risugami's ModLoader, Flan's ModLoaderMP, and SpaceToad's and Eloraam's MCForge, and says "a big mod like IC² just can't live without all these base-modifications". minecraft-history/industrialcraft-loaders
first post, prerequisitesRisugami's ModLoader Beta 1.8.1
Flan's ModLoaderMP Client 1.8.1
SpaceToad's/Eloraam's MCForge Client 1.1.2 or later[MC Beta 1.8.1] IC2 v1.23 SSP/SMP (IndustrialCraft forum thread) · first post, creditsAdditionally, thanks go to Risugami, Flan and the MCForge team, a big mod like IC² just can't live without all these base-modifications.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
BuildCraft's Minecraft Forum thread, kept by SirSengir in 2012, says the mod was created by SpaceToad and is maintained by Krapht and SirSengir, and answers that it needs ModLoader and Minecraft Forge. minecraft-history/buildcraft-loaders
first postBuildCraft is a modification for Minecraft aimed at allowing users to build advanced structures and mechanisms. It was created by Spacetoad and is currently maintained by Krapht and SirSengir.BuildCraft - Blueprints, Pipes, Quarries, Autocrafting, Logic Gates and more! (Minecraft Forum thread) · post #12Yes. You need ModLoader and Minecraft Forge.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureCited by: Minecraft
The Terraria Wiki says Terraria is often compared to Minecraft by its fans and was partly inspired by it. minecraft-history/terraria
Terraria, first paragraphThe game is often compared to Minecraft by the fandom, and Terraria was partially inspired by it.Checked by claude, 2026-10-26 — found each quote in the pinned captureThe wiki's reference is a screenshot of Redigit's answer in the official Discord (15 May 2020), which names Minecraft among five games; the screenshot isn't read here.
Cited by: Minecraft