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Minecraft Has Made A Lot Of Money

News

by Matt Miller on April 06, 2011 at 03:25 PM

14,101 Views

It's rare that indie game developers see extremely large pay checks. Minecraft appears to be the exception.

The maker of Minecraft,, Markus Persson, had some interesting details to share on a recent Reddit comment thread. Within, he talks about the amount of money that Minecraft has brought in.

"The game sold about 800,000 copies at 9.95 euro and then so far 1 million more at 14.95 euro. Paypal takes a cut, there are taxes, and such, but it's still a huge wad of money," Persson explains.

That adds up to a hefty chunk of change, somewhere in the neighborhood of over 30 million dollars. Without more details, it's impossible to confirm these numbers, and it's also unknown exactly how much money is taken out by Paypal and taxes.

Nonetheless, it seems likely that Persson is making far more money than he originally suspected out of his independent game. And, what a lot of people don't know? It is even the final game yet. The game is still technically in beta!

[via Gamasutra]

Email the author Matt Miller, or follow on Game Informer.

Filed under: News, minecraft, sales numbers

Comments

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by gelos7008 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:30 PM

Heyyy, that's seananner's house
by phalanx47 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:31 PM

Good he deserves to make some good money
by Enclave2077 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:34 PM

Good for him. It pains me that i'll never match his level though.... XP
by Impulse84 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:34 PM

My 12 bucks are somewhere in that 30 mil.
by mew151 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:35 PM

good for him, making an interesting game has payed off this time.
by The guy who is meh Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:37 PM

Yes, I got Minecraft last week, one of the best games I've played. I can't wait until it becomes an actual game with objectives, NPC villages, ext.
by Thomas Quinn Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:38 PM

I've seen Minecraft played before and it just wasn't something I could get into. It's cool that the creator made so much money off of it but to me it seemed to be largely an online world of LEGO's.
by Boyzby Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:39 PM

I don't know why I'm waiting to get this game.
by utdevildog Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 03:47 PM

Good for him. It's nice to see an independent developer pulling in the kind of money that normally is reserved for larger companies.

Minecraft is great. I can't put my finger on what makes it that way, but it certainly keeps me addicted regardless. There's something rewarding about mining all those blocks and then turning them into something in the game. Hell, even building your first small house is an awfully rewarding experience when you're doing all the mining and smelting and building yourself.
by Darth Maul Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:03 PM

That's sweet.
by Lazorcheese888 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:16 PM

I think you mean "it ISNT even the final game yet"
by Brad Tramel Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:22 PM

Hopefully this is seen as inspiration to other indie developers to make creative, innovative games. I've never played Minecraft, but I've been following the stories of it's success. Congrats to the developer!
by Fighting Fort Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:39 PM

I gota buy this game.
by Thesystem67 Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:42 PM

can't wait for final version
by Jordan Scango Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:50 PM

BREAKING NEWS

THE BERLIN WALL HAS BEEN BROUGHT DOWN!

Seriously GI.
by BMW Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:51 PM

A beta making money? You beta give me a real game!
by ShadeLurker Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:53 PM

It is *not* even the final game yet. Sorry, it just bothered me. >.>

Anyway, he made a good game and I'm glad he's getting a good payout. Here's hoping that his next game does alright and that the final product for Minecraft lives up to expectations.
by Travis Gray Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 04:56 PM

Does GI love SeaNanners as well? You should do an interview! That's be pretty awesome. Put it into your next magazine or something. Also, you should do an article on the MASSIVE gaming community on youtube. People like Hutch and SeaNanners and HuskyStarcraft and HDStarcraft come immediately to mind.
by Giga-Gamil Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 05:10 PM

Notch deserves every penny. Never in my life have I played a game that allows me to use my imagination as much as Minecraft has, and that is worth paying money for.
by Kurt Thomas Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 05:23 PM

Notch earned it! That game is just so f*cking good! I don't think that any game has captivated my interest for so long a period of time.