Sandbox game about mining, crafting and building in procedurally generated block worlds.
Markus Persson
Creator of Minecraft, sold Mojang to Microsoft for $2.5B; now making Levers and Chests
About Markus Persson
Markus "Notch" Persson is a Swedish programmer and game designer from Stockholm and the original creator of Minecraft. Before Minecraft he worked on Wurm Online, spent several years making Flash games at Midasplayer (later King) and programmed for jAlbum, while entering game jams like Ludum Dare and building small Java games on the side.
He released the first public version of Minecraft in May 2009 as a solo side project, selling it to players while it was still in early development. The game's explosive word-of-mouth growth let him found Mojang and reach a full release in November 2011. Minecraft went on to become the best-selling video game in history.
In 2014 Microsoft acquired Mojang for a reported $2.5 billion, one of the most famous outcomes of any indie project. Persson later stepped away from Minecraft, and Microsoft removed most references to him from the game in 2019. He has continued to prototype games, and in 2025 announced Levers and Chests, a dungeon-crawler roguelike, as his current project.
Products by Markus Persson
Levers and Chests
x.com
Dungeon-crawler roguelike he announced in 2025 as his current project.
Exit story
Persson was worn out by the pressure of owning Minecraft and wanted to move on from the game.
by Markus Persson
- First product
- Exit
- Launch / milestone
- Started 2009
- 2009First product: Released the first public version of Minecraft and founded…
- 2011Launch: Shipped Minecraft 1.0 and made Minicraft for Ludum Dare 22
- 2014Exit: Sold Mojang to Microsoft for a reported $2.5 billion
- 2025Launch: Announced Levers and Chests, a roguelike dungeon crawler
Timeline
- 2009 — Released the first public version of Minecraft and founded Mojang.
- 2011 — Shipped Minecraft 1.0 and made Minicraft for Ludum Dare 22.
- 2014 — Sold Mojang to Microsoft for a reported $2.5 billion.
- 2025 — Announced Levers and Chests, a roguelike dungeon crawler.
How Markus builds
- Release early and let players buy in while the game is still evolving.
- Let word of mouth and community creativity drive growth.
- Prototype quickly through game jams and small experiments.
Markus Persson FAQ
Who created Minecraft?
Minecraft was created by Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson, who released its first public version in May 2009 and founded Mojang to develop it.
How much did Notch sell Minecraft for?
Microsoft bought Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, in 2014 for a reported $2.5 billion.
What is Notch working on now?
His X bio says he is working on Levers and Chests, a dungeon-crawler roguelike he announced in 2025.
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