Nobody Had to Buy It Twice
In April of 2025, a film about a video game opened in American cinemas and took a hundred and sixty-three million dollars in its first three days.
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Nobody Had to Buy It Twice
Minecraft has sold more than three hundred million copies, and every one of those buyers got the updates afterwards for nothing. That is the promise the game made in 2009, and it has kept it. This episode follows what the company tried to sell those same people instead — schools, a free version for a country, and three games of its own — and the extension that finally worked, which was not a game at all.
The story in short
The price was set once. In June 2009 Markus Persson published a price list for an unfinished game and promised that every future update would be included: "You never have to pay again." 1 He kept it. The finished game went on sale in November 2011, and the updates have stayed free to anyone who owns it. That promise turned revenue into a count of new buyers: it grows while you find people who have never played, and it stops when you run out. By September 2014, when Microsoft agreed to buy Mojang for two and a half billion dollars, the game had been downloaded more than a hundred million times on PC alone. 2
Schools came first, and they had arrived on their own. Microsoft's January 2016 announcement that it was buying MinecraftEdu opens with the fact that more than seven thousand classrooms in more than forty countries were already using Minecraft to teach. 3 The full version of Minecraft: Education Edition went on sale on 1 November 2016 at five dollars per user, per year, in eleven languages and fifty countries. 4 For the first time, the price of the game was annual, and an institution paid it.
China came second, and the price went to zero. In May 2016 Microsoft, Mojang and the Chinese internet company NetEase announced a five-year exclusive licence for the PC and mobile editions in mainland China, with Mojang building a version for that market. 5 The free version reached PC in August 2017, iOS in September and Android in October, with no console edition. 6 Less than a year later, NetEase had more than a hundred million registered users in China; by October 2018 the free downloads there had passed a hundred and fifty million, more people in one country than the hundred and forty-four million copies Minecraft had sold worldwide by then. 6
The games came third, and this is where the pattern shows. Minecraft Dungeons was announced on 28 September 2018, delayed from April 2020, and released on 26 May 2020 at $19.99, with a $29.99 edition that included two extra packs. 7 It reached twenty-five million players, and Mojang ended it: version 1.17 was the final update, the team moved on to new projects, and no further features were planned. 8 Minecraft Earth, a phone game built around walking around and playing together, was ended in January 2021 because the pandemic had made those two things near impossible; player balances were converted into credit for the in-game store, and anyone who had ever bought something received a free copy of the main game. 9 Minecraft Legends was released on 18 April 2023, and Mojang stepped back from its development on 10 January 2024. 10
The extension that worked was a film. In May 2020 Mojang renamed itself Mojang Studios and said what was coming: "Following Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons, we're planning a feature film, preparing an epic live show, and playing with ideas for brand new games." 11 A Minecraft Movie, released by Warner Bros. on 4 April 2025, cost a hundred and fifty million dollars and took a hundred and sixty-three million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada. 12 It finished just under a billion dollars worldwide, from an audience that only had to buy a ticket.
The timeline you hear
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| June 2009 | Persson publishes a price list for the unfinished game: nine euros ninety-five in alpha, fourteen ninety-five in beta, twenty at release, with all future updates included. 1 |
| November 2011 | The finished game goes on sale, and the promise of free updates holds from then on. |
| 15 September 2014 | Microsoft announces it is buying Mojang for two and a half billion dollars, and says the game has been downloaded more than a hundred million times on PC alone. 2 |
| 19 January 2016 | Microsoft announces the acquisition of MinecraftEdu and a classroom version; more than seven thousand classrooms in more than forty countries already use Minecraft. 3 |
| 20 May 2016 | Microsoft, Mojang and NetEase announce a five-year exclusive licence to bring Minecraft's PC and mobile editions to mainland China. 5 |
| 1 November 2016 | Minecraft: Education Edition goes on sale at five dollars per user, per year, in eleven languages and fifty countries. 4 |
| August–October 2017 | The free China Edition reaches PC in August, iOS in September and Android in October, with no console version. 6 |
| May 2018 | More than a hundred million registered users in China, less than a year after launch. 6 |
| 28 September 2018 | Minecraft Dungeons is announced. 8 |
| 17 May 2020 | Mojang becomes Mojang Studios, and the announcement names a feature film among its plans. 11 |
| 26 May 2020 | Minecraft Dungeons is released on Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Game Pass, after a delay from April. 7 |
| 5 January 2021 | Mojang announces the end of Minecraft Earth; support ends in June. 13 |
| 18 April 2023 | Minecraft Legends is released. 10 |
| 28 September 2023 | Mojang reports twenty-five million players for Dungeons, confirms 1.17 was the final update, and says no new features are planned. 8 |
| 15 October 2023 | Mojang reports that Minecraft has passed three hundred million copies sold. 14 |
| 10 January 2024 | Mojang says it is stepping back from Minecraft Legends development, less than a year after release. 10 |
| 4 April 2025 | A Minecraft Movie is released by Warner Bros. and takes $162.75 million in its opening weekend. 12 |
The numbers behind the episode
Three hundred million copies sold by October 2023, 14 against twenty-five million players for the first spin-off game. The second number is a hit in any normal market and about eight percent of the first. 8
Five dollars per user, per year, for the classroom version, sold in eleven languages and fifty countries on its first day. 4 More than seven thousand classrooms in more than forty countries were already using the game before that price existed. 3
A hundred million registered users in China within a year of launch, and a hundred and fifty million free downloads by October 2018 — against a hundred and forty-four million copies sold worldwide at that point. 6 The licence behind that growth ran five years. 5
Dungeons was priced at $19.99, with a $29.99 edition carrying two extra packs — close enough to the main game's price that the comparison was unavoidable. 7
The film cost a hundred and fifty million dollars, opened to $162.75 million in the United States and Canada, made $424.1 million there in total, and finished on $960.4 million worldwide. 12
Quotes you hear
"All future updates of the game, including all expansions and addons. You never have to pay again." — Markus Persson, announcing the price, June 2009 1
"More than 7,000 classrooms in more than 40 countries around the world are already using Minecraft." — Anthony Salcito, Microsoft, 19 January 2016 3
"We'll always embrace opportunities to bring Minecraft to new players around the world, widening our community, and giving us a new perspective on our game." — Jonas Mårtensson, chief executive of Mojang, 20 May 2016 5
"From our humble beginnings in Stockholm, we are entering the 20's as a multi-title, multi-location company. Following Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons, we're planning a feature film, preparing an epic live show, and playing with ideas for brand new games." — Mojang Studios, 17 May 2020 11
"Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play – two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation." — Mojang, 5 January 2021 13
"It exceeded our wildest dreams, and it makes us both proud and grateful for having had the pleasure of building a game together with a community like this one." — Mojang, on Minecraft Dungeons, 28 September 2023 8
"As 1.17 was Minecraft Dungeons' final update, our team has now moved on to new projects… there are no new features or content updates planned for the game." — Mojang, 28 September 2023 8
"We're now going to take a step back from development." — Cristina Anderca, Mojang Studios, on Minecraft Legends, 10 January 2024 10
One claim the episode does not make
You will hear that the spin-off games failed. The record does not support that, and the difference matters. Minecraft Dungeons reached twenty-five million players, and Mojang's own farewell calls it a game that exceeded the studio's wildest dreams; development ended because the team moved on, not because the game was withdrawn. 8 Minecraft Legends lasted nine months, which is short — but short is a description of a decision, not proof of a failure, and no player numbers from Microsoft or Mojang are public for it.
What the episode does claim is narrower: these games were small next to the game they came from, and the people who decide inside a franchise compare them to it. Twenty-five million against three hundred million is about eight percent, and that comparison is the thing that ended them.
The episode also does not claim that the classroom market was Microsoft's idea. The version teachers were using in January 2016 came from a company called TeacherGaming, which is what Microsoft bought. 3
References
- 1In the spirit of the new economy — The Word of Notch, archived
blog.omniarchive.net
- 2Microsoft Newsroom
news.microsoft.com
- 3Microsoft Official Blog
blogs.microsoft.com
- 4Windows Experience Blog
blogs.windows.com
- 5NetEase, Inc.
prnewswire.com
- 6GamesIndustry.biz
gamesindustry.biz
- 7Minecraft.net — Dungeons launching May 26
minecraft.net
- 8Minecraft.net — Dungeons: 25 million players
minecraft.net
- 9Minecraft.net — Minecraft Earth Coming to an End
minecraft.net
- 10IGN
ign.com
- 11Minecraft.net — Meet Mojang Studios
minecraft.net
- 12Box Office Mojo
boxofficemojo.com
- 13Minecraft.net\
minecraft.net
- 14Minecraft.net\
minecraft.net
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