Fortnite may have intimidating influence over the gaming world, but this does not stop the surge of other gaming happenings. In fact, Minecraft has been subtly dominating the gaming world for more than a decade and currently has accumulated 112 million players each month. This statistic represents an increase of over 20 million players since the last announcement from Microsoft back in 2018.
These vast quantities include players across different devices and platforms such as game consoles, Xbox Game Pass, PC, smartphones, and other versions of the game that is educationally-centered.
Set in a world of 3D items and blocky materials, the game that is developed by a Swedish game developer and published by Mojang, has received several negative acclaims and won several awards since its release back in 2011. It is also known as one of the greatest and leading video games in history.
During a phone interview with Business Insider, Helen Chiang, the game’s studio head, told Business Insider that the game had been continuously growing ever since the acquisition for the past five years.
Chiang explained that the ever-growing numbers of the game’s active players are probably due to the evergreen reputation of the original game; it is a game that people keep coming back to regardless of how many times have passed. Players may take up other popular games that get the limelight for a certain period, but after that, there is a real probability that they will still return to constructing houses and buildings in the game.
Other reasons may contribute to this game’s success as well. Apart from the game’s absolute ubiquity across different devices and platforms, the game’s graphics’ nature and straightforward mechanic make it easily adaptable in any device, be it a budget computer or a costly mobile phone. Players can use moderately-priced gadgets and still get a decent quality experience.
The greatest challenge that Microsoft need to face now is to keep the game applicable for years to come. The company’s augmented reality game, Minecraft Earth that was launched in the beta test for Android users last month may have helped to increase the game’s favorability. The same goes for the cool NVIDIA ray-tracing feature that realistically mimics various lighting ambiance, including direct sunlight, reflections, glowing lava, shades of shadows, and many more.
Nevertheless, it is still not clear if these attempts are enough to keep the game relevant. Other popular games, including Roblox that have reached 100 million active players per month, and Fortnite with over 78 million monthly players, might be able to catch up to the societal zeitgeist in no time.
