Markus Persson

Markus Persson makes video games.

He started making games when he was seven. He made his first game at age eight. It was a game with words.

He made a game called Minecraft. It is a very big game. Many people buy it to play.

He started a company called Mojang. He worked there for a long time. Then he sold his company to Microsoft.

He still works on new game ideas today.

Markus Persson is a game designer from Sweden.

He grew up in Stockholm. He loved to explore the woods with friends. He also loved computers. His father taught him how to use a home computer. Persson started making his own games when he was seven. By age eight, he made a game using only words.

Persson is most famous for making Minecraft. He found ideas for it in a game called Infiniminer. Minecraft uses blocks to build worlds. It became the best-selling video game ever made. He started a company called Mojang Studios to make it.

In 2014, Persson sold Mojang to Microsoft. This sale was for 2.5 billion dollars. This made him a billionaire. He left the company because he felt tired of the fame. He wanted to move on with his life.

Persson still works on new ideas. He has made small games like Shambles. He also made a funny game called Cliffhorse. He is now working on a game called Levers and Chests. He still finds ways to make new worlds for people to play in.

Markus Alexej Persson is a famous video game designer from Sweden.

He is best known by his nickname, Notch. He created Minecraft, which is the best-selling video game in history. Persson started his journey with computers at a very young age. He grew up in Stockholm and spent time exploring the woods. His father taught him how to use a Commodore 128 computer. By the age of eight, Persson had already made his first text-based adventure game. He loved the challenge of making new things with code.

Creating Minecraft was a process of trying many different ideas.

Before Minecraft, Persson worked on a project called RubyDung. This was a game where you could build bases in three dimensions. He later found inspiration in a game called Infiniminer. That game used a block-based style that changed everything for him. Persson decided to use those blocky visuals and building rules for his new project. He released the first version of Minecraft on a web forum in May 2009. He kept updating the game by listening to what players wanted.

Persson's career grew very quickly as his games became popular. He founded a company called Mojang Studios in 2009 to manage his work. In 2010, he even visited the Valve Corporation headquarters in Washington. He was offered a job there but chose to stay with Minecraft instead. By early 2011, Minecraft had reached one million registered accounts. Only six months later, that number jumped to ten million. The game was a massive success that changed the world of gaming.

Life changed a lot for Persson because of his fame. In 2011, he handed the creative lead role to Jens Bergensten. Persson felt tired from the intense media attention and public pressure. He felt like he had become a symbol rather than just a person. In September 2014, he decided to sell his share of Mojang. Microsoft bought the company for 2.5 billion US dollars in November 2014. This huge deal made Persson a billionaire. He then left the company to move on with his life.

Even after leaving Mojang, Persson has continued to explore new ideas. He started a company called Rubberbrain, which later became Bitshift Entertainment in 2024. He has made small, fun projects like a game called Cliffhorse. He also created a free game called Shambles using a tool called Unity. Recently, he has looked into making virtual reality games. He is currently working on a new game called Levers and Chests. Persson continues to show how one person's passion can build entire worlds.

Markus Alexej Persson is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is most famous for creating Minecraft, which is the best-selling video game in history.

Persson often uses the pseudonym Notch. He founded the development company Mojang Studios in 2009. His career is defined by his ability to turn simple programming ideas into massive global phenomena. His work has influenced how millions of people interact with digital worlds.

Persson’s journey into programming began during his childhood in Sweden. His father was a technical enthusiast who built his own modem. This environment allowed Persson to learn on a Commodore 128 home computer at age seven. He began programming on this machine almost immediately. By the age of eight, he produced his first game, which was a text-based adventure. Although he studied graphic design between the ages of 15 and 18, his true passion remained in code. He even successfully reverse-engineered the Doom engine, a feat that required significant technical skill.

Before Minecraft became a global success, Persson worked on several different projects. He initially developed a game called RubyDung, which was an isometric three-dimensional base-building game. While working on RubyDung, he experimented with a first-person view mode. However, he initially decided against it because the graphics felt too pixelated. His direction changed when he discovered the game Infiniminer. This block-based mining game provided the inspiration for Minecraft’s core mechanics. Persson decided to return to the first-person mode and adopt a "blocky" visual style. This combination of block-building and exploration became the foundation of his most famous work.

Minecraft underwent several distinct developmental stages before its official release. Persson first released the "Classic" version on the TIGSource forums in May 2009. He used feedback from forum users to guide his updates. The game moved through various phases, including Survival Test, Indev, and Infdev. By June 30, 2010, the game entered its Alpha phase. This was followed by the Beta phase on December 20, 2010, which allowed the game to expand to other platforms like mobile devices.

These iterative steps allowed the game to grow alongside its community.

The commercial success of Minecraft was unprecedented in the gaming industry. In January 2011, the game reached one million registered accounts. Only six months later, that number climbed to ten million. By November 7, 2011, the game had sold over four million copies. The scale of this success led Mojang to hold its first Minecon in November 2011. In 2013, Mojang recorded massive financial figures, including $330 million in revenues and $129 million in profits. This rapid growth transformed a small indie project into a massive commercial enterprise.

Managing such a large operation eventually led Persson to step away from his role. He felt exhausted by intense media attention and public pressure. He expressed that he felt he had become a "symbol" rather than a person connected to his fans. In December 2011, he transferred creative authority to Jens Bergensten. In September 2014, Persson announced his intention to leave Mojang. Microsoft purchased the company in November 2014 for $2.5 billion. This transaction made Persson a billionaire, as he held a 71% stake in the company at the time.

Since leaving Mojang, Persson has continued to explore various creative avenues. He co-founded Rubberbrain in 2015, a studio that later relaunched as Bitshift Entertainment in 2024. He has experimented with different genres, such as the humorous game Cliffhorse and the free game Shambles. He also developed a series of immersive narrative events called ".party()". While he briefly considered a "Minecraft 2" in early 2025, he ultimately chose to develop a roguelike game titled Levers and Chests. His career demonstrates how early technical curiosity can evolve into a profound impact on digital culture.