Minecraft is five years old this year, but thanks to the continued support of developer Mojang, the game continues to progress. New content is being added to the game all the time, and players continue to return to the sandbox adventure. With the game now available on most modern platforms, including the Xbox and PS4, everyone can have fun with Minecraft.
Strong sales on Xbox
In 2015, Minecraft reached 70 million copies sold on all platforms. The Xbox One and Xbox 360 together accounted for 20 million of those copies, which is equal to sales on Mac and PC combined.
Now on Wii U
Mojang has left Nintendo out in the cold for some time now. Both the Wii and Wii U have been out for a while now, and neither console has had access to Mojang's popular title for very long. Last December, Mojang finally released Minecraft for the Wii U. The console wasn't very successful and is currently on its deathbed, but the arrival of Minecraft is better late than never.
Minecraft Gear VR Edition
Virtual reality is still new to the market, but that hasn't stopped Mojang from using it to bring Minecraft to a new audience. This week, Minecraft was released for the Samsung Gear VR. The new version, called Minecraft: Gear VR Edition, shares many features with the pocket edition of the game. A version for the Oculus Rift is still in development, and will contain many features from the Xbox versions of the game.
Many ways to play
Over time, players have found new and creative ways to play the game. With the use of the game's super flat world feature, players decide what each layer of blocks will be in the game. Once the layers are decided, players create challenges that they must complete in their new flat world. These challenges, called flat challenges, range from digging down to bedrock to defeating the game's bosses. These tasks are made more difficult due to limited resources.
Nowhere to go but up
Things don't seem to be slowing down for Mojang's success. Microsoft bought Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion. Instead of limiting the game to Xbox platforms, Microsoft has expanded it to other platforms. Stores are starting to fill up with Minecraft books and toys as the game continues to grow. There has even been a spin-off game that introduces story elements into the series. As Minecraft mania continues to grow, the possibilities for the series are endless.