Minecraft is a developed by . The game was created by in the . Following several early test versions, it was released as a for personal computers in 2009 before releasing in November 2011, with taking over development. Minecraft has since been ported to several other platforms and is the , with 200 million copies sold and 126 million as of 2020.
In Minecraft, players explore a blocky, world with infinite terrain, and may discover and extract raw materials, tools and items, and build structures or . Depending on , players can fight computer-controlled "", as well as cooperate with or compete against other players in the same world. Game modes include a , in which players must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health, and a creative mode, where players have unlimited resources. Players can to create new gameplay mechanics, items, and assets.
Minecraft has been critically acclaimed, winning several awards and being cited as one of the . Social media, parodies, adaptations, merchandise, and the annual conventions played large roles in popularizing the game. It has also been used in educational environments, especially in the realm of computing systems, as virtual computers and hardware devices have been built in it. In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft were purchased by for US$2.5 billion. A number of spin-off games have also been produced, such as , , and .