Minecraft Creator Just Trashed His Own Game
"Minecraft" is the type of game that rarely comes around, one that can satiate gamers' need to create and become even more than its original programmer intended. Markus "Notch" Persson created "Minecraft" almost entirely by himself, and became famous alongside the innovative game — but now he's seemingly turned on his own creation, trashing it in public.
Notch became famous because of his work on "Minecraft," and earned lots of money in the process, but that doesn't mean he feels the need to eternally praise the game and its accomplishments. Notch, admittedly, has a shady side that fans have known about for a long time, but that doesn't mean that he hates his own game. Or does it?
The creator recently took to Twitter to share his thoughts on "Minecraft," tweeting, "I'm not the one to speak ill of the dead, but yeah, Minecraft's a little bit dead." This tweet followed shortly after Notch made a derisive comment concerning an official "Minecraft" and "Sonic the Hedgehog" crossover.
Fans of "Minecraft” responded swiftly, many with mixed reactions to the controversial statement. Some people couldn't believe he'd imply the game was past its prime. Others simply informed Notch that no one asked him for his opinion. One gamer helpfully pointed out that "Minecraft" has approximately 140 million players at any given time, which would seem to make it far from dead.
Gamers talk back
Fellow developer Cliff Bleszinski, who created the "Gears of War" franchise before leaving Epic Games in 2012, advised Notch against talking poorly about his creation. Bleszinski bluntly tweeted, "It's pretty s***y for you to talk s*** like that about the company that bought your freedom. It'd be like me being like 'GEARZ IS TRASH NOW' no I want to see my baby do well." Bleszinski also noted that Microsoft has done well managing the "Minecraft" IP.
Most commenters took the opportunity to reply by recalling Notch's past transgressions, mainly derogatory comments he's made about the LGBTQ+ community. Still, many gamers follow Notch, despite his continued insistence on commenting on politics, gender, and other touchy topics. Famously, Microsoft scrubbed "Minecraft" of all mentions of its creator, wanting to separate the wildly popular title from the controversial claims Notch made in his private life. Now, there may be many fans that don't even know Notch created their favorite game.
Now, gamers know that although the Mojang team had reservations about working with Microsoft, the PC giant took a great deal of care when handling the famous indie game. Even with Microsoft's guidance, the fan community is the real driving force behind the success of "Minecraft." Modders have made a staggering amount of money through "Minecraft," and streamers like Dream keep the game on the lips of every streaming fan.