Recent reports suggest that the Minecraft Marketplace feature is generating crazy amounts of money
The popular game “Minecraft” is a sandbox video game developed by Mojang and released in 2011. The game is available on PCs, mobile phones, PlayStation, and Xbox. The game is set in a blocky world with infinite terrain and the players can discover and extract raw materials in order to craft tools and items along with structures called earthworks. Minecraft is one of the most successful and best games of all time and is still played by a massive number of players despite being released a decade earlier.
It got so successful that in 2014, Microsoft decided to buy Mojang and Minecraft intellectual property for $2.5 billion. In- fact, a recent report revealed that the Marketplace feature made over $350 million for modders. That is proof of the amazing success of the game and why it will continue to go even further.
The Minecraft Marketplace
The Marketplace is an in-game store that allows the players to purchase skins, textures, and worlds from the community creators who in turn get reimbursed for their creations. The currency that is spent in this Marketplace is Minecoins which the players have to purchase using actual money. It was introduced in 2017 along with the Discovery update to Minecraft. This feature was introduced as a result of Microsoft’s initiative to make modders a bigger part of the game. According to a transcript of an earnings call on April 27 that Microsoft had with the investors, the modders have made over $350 million from their interactions on the game.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had previously revealed that Xbox’s “Contact Currency” grew by 32% which was never expected. He also added that Minecraft brings in nearly 140 million monthly active users, up 30% every year, making it one of the leading platforms in the creator economy.” He emphasized the potential of Minecraft along with Microsoft Flight Simulator in the near future. “I’m optimistic about our opportunity ahead.” It looks like the passionate “Minecraft” community has made a significant impact on Microsoft’s earnings, even more than Microsoft itself could have predicted.”I’m optimistic about our opportunity ahead” he said.
If we are to look at the statistics of 2020, Minecraft has over 200 million copies sold and 126 million monthly active users. The Q3 financial results of Microsoft were announced the last Tuesday and it revealed that the company has made over $15.5 billion profit up until now from Minecraft. Players who are like adrenaline junkies prefer more violent games, however, Minecraft has proven that imagination can bring fun without any R-rated action.
