What was Minecraft a copy of?
As a gaming industry professional and lifetime Minecraft fan, I often get asked — what was Minecraft a copy of? What was the original inspiration behind the best-selling video game of all time?
Infiniminer – The Game That Sparked the Idea for Minecraft
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson directly cited the 2009 indie game Infiniminer as the primary inspiration for Minecraft‘s core gameplay.
Developed by Zachtronics, Infiniminer focused on competitive block-based digging and building. Players searched underground mines for materials to craft new structures and weapons.
Notch was immediately captivated by Infiniminer‘s primitive 3D visuals built entirely using tile-based textured blocks. He saw the gaming potential of expanding this concept into a more open-ended, exploratory experience.
While Infiniminer never found commercial success, its ideas served as the seed that grew into one of the most popular games ever made – now played by over 140 million monthly active users and counting!
Key Gameplay Elements Borrowed from Infiniminer
- Block-based world built using tileable textured cubes
- First-person 3D viewpoint
- Underground caves and mines to explore
- Gathering materials from environment
- Using gathered materials to construct buildings and tools
Without Infiniminer‘s innovative cube-based engine and mining mechanics, Minecraft as we know it today might not exist. Notch struck gold by evolving these concepts into a more sandbox-oriented experience.
Expanding on Infiniminer‘s Foundation
However, while clearly inspired by Infiniminer, Minecraft added many new gameplay features that helped it become far more popular, including:
- Vast open-ended above-ground worlds with diverse biomes
- Crafting system with significantly more recipe complexity
- Survival gameplay elements like farming, hunting, cooking, etc
- Peaceful, creative building modes
- Multiplayer servers enabling massive player-created worlds
- Cross-platform play on mobile, console, PC, and VR devices
Further Development Influences
In addition to Infiniminer, Notch cited classic games like Dwarf Fortress, Dungeon Keeper, and Rollercoaster Tycoon as influences while expanding Minecraft‘s scope beyond pure mining and crafting mechanics into an expansive creative sandbox platform.
These design influences enabled Minecraft to appeal to players beyond just the initial survival/crafting niche. With versatile play modes and modular mechanics, Minecraft built the foundations to become a platform for creation rather than a single game.
Why Was Minecraft So Much More Successful Than Its Inspirations?
Which raises the question – why did Minecraft go on to such phenomenal mainstream success while Infiniminer faded to obscurity? And why hasn‘t any game inspired by Minecraft reached the same heights?
In my professional opinion, several key factors came together to make Minecraft the explosive hit that it was:
Accessibility
Minecraft offers intuitive gameplay suitable for all ages rather than catering to hardcore niche gamers. Bright blocky visuals rendered beautifully across low and high-end hardware alike.
Community
Minecraft fostered a vibrant creative community, enabled further by multiplayer servers where players could build together. The community created mods, custom maps, and in-game artwork that brought incredible value.
Constant Evolution
Through continual updates, new features, and fresh content, Minecraft stayed relevant while the initially trendy sandbox/crafting genre faded away around it.
Cross-Platform Ubiquity
Minecraft released on every desired platform from mobile to console to PC/Mac. Play anywhere, with anyone, no limits.
Seamless cross-platform support kept Minecraft‘s player base unified even as gaming fragmented.
Developer Support
Even after selling Minecraft, Notch/Mojang provided excellent ongoing developer support rather than abandoning it – critical for fostering an active user modding scene.
By the Numbers: Quantifying Minecraft‘s Legacy
To fully grasp Minecraft‘s mind-blowing success, let‘s break down some key stats:
All-Time Best Selling Video Games
| Game Title | Copies Sold | Genre | Release Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft | 238 million | Sandbox | 2009 |
| GTA V | 170 million* | Action-Adventure | 2013 |
| Tetris** | 100 million | Puzzle | 1984 |
*Still actively selling 5M+ copies annually a decade post-launch!
**Estimated across 100+ platform releases over decades
To summarize – Minecraft has sold 68 million more copies than the second best-selling game, and outpaced legendary arcade classic Tetris by over 138 million units!
That‘s nearly as many sales as Call of Duty and Mario franchise lifetime totals combined.
These outrageous numbers cement Minecraft‘s status as an outlier gaming phenomenon rather than just another hit game.
Monthly Active Users Comparison
While unit sales records provide one impressive datapoint, monthly active users indicate whether players actually stick around and enjoy playing the game long-term rather than just trying it once.
Let‘s see how Minecraft compares as of late 2022:
| Game | Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| Minecraft | 141 million |
| Roblox | 57.8 million |
| Fortnite | 45 million |
Minecraft enjoys a staggering 85 million more monthly players than Roblox, widely considered its closest competitor and "successor" in the user-generated creative gaming space.
And compared to current battle-royale shooter juggernaut Fortnite, Minecraft sees over 3 times as many active monthly fans!
A vital indicator of Minecraft‘s unmatched longevity in pop culture and ability to continually attract new generations of devoted crafters and builders.
The Legacy Continues
Even now, 13 years after its initial technical test releases, Minecraft still dominates gaming headlines with announcements like its upcoming 1.20 "Wild" update planned for 2023.
The fact Minecraft receives such anticipation for an update in its second decade of active development puts its staying power into perspective compared to flailing former rivals.
With steady content updates and engagement from streamers introducing it to young viewers daily, Minecraft seems poised to keep building on its wild success for the foreseeable future.
So while clearly inspired by Infiniminer back in 2009, Minecraft has now far eclipsed its initial inspiration to become a canonical installment in gaming history – the best-selling and most impact video game of all time.
Notch struck gold by taking Infiniminer‘s concept further and creating something accessible, dynamic, and most importantly: fun! Through Mojang‘s stellar long-term development, the game has taken on a life of its own – a virtual creative sandbox with unlimited freedom.
