A number of spin-off games have also been produced, such as Minecraft: Story Mode, Minecraft Dungeons, and Minecraft Earth. In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion.

The game has also been used in educational environments to teach chemistry, computer-aided design, and computer science. Social media, parodies, adaptations, merchandise, and the annual Minecon conventions played large roles in popularizing the game. Minecraft has been critically acclaimed, winning several awards and being cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Players can modify the game to create new gameplay mechanics, items, and assets. Game modes include a survival mode, in which players must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health, and a creative mode, where players have unlimited resources and access to flight. Depending on game mode, players can fight computer-controlled mobs, as well as cooperate with or compete against other players in the same world. In Minecraft, players explore a blocky, procedurally generated 3D world with virtually infinite terrain, and may discover and extract raw materials, craft tools and items, and build structures or earthworks. Minecraft has since been ported to several other platforms and is the best-selling video game of all time, with over 238 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active users as of 2021. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before fully releasing in November 2011, with Jens Bergensten then taking over development. The game was created by Markus 'Notch' Persson in the Java programming language. Minecraft is a sandbox video game developed by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios.

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