TIME Minecraft
THE MASTERMIND REFLECTS ON 15 YEARS OF MINECRAFT • Jens Bergensten, chief creative officer of Mojang, talks about how far the game has come, and where it will go
THE PHENOMENON • The game has enthralled hundreds of millions of fans while becoming a sensation across all kinds of media
MINECRAFT’S ORIGIN STORY • How a game from an independent Swedish company conquered the world
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED • Selected highlights from the game’s first 15 years
The Best of Tricky Trials • Breaking down the most welcome additions in this year’s update
THE GAME GOES HOLLYWOOD • After a delirious decade of development, the Minecraft movie finally seems to be a reality.
Meanwhile, on TV… • Netflix is developing an animated show based on the game, possibly arriving by next year
More Gamer Movie Ideas • Five more unlikely video game adaptations we’d like to see
YOUTUBERS KEEP THE GAME SPICY • With more than 1.5 trillion (!) views to their credit, video stars inspire and shape players’ experiences
TAKING THE JOURNEY OFFLINE • Author Max Brooks has written a trilogy of books set in the Minecraft universe
THE VIRTUES OF MINECRAFT • The game has found favor in classrooms, with parents, and in the neurodivergent community, while also becoming a tool for activists
THE GAME THAT TEACHERS WELCOME IN THE CLASSROOM • The educational version of Minecraft has been a hit with educators and students
The Teacher Who Started It All • In this 2012 story, TIME profiled a New York City computer instructor who had crafted an educational version of the game—which would eventually become Minecraft Education
CALL IT LIBERATION TECH • The power of the game is being harnessed by people who want to change the world
YOUR CHILD PLAYS MINECRAFT. A LOT. SHOULD YOU WORRY? • As a rule, no. But there are ways to make sure their experience is a good one
Neurodivergence and Minecraft • The game turns out to be perfectly suited for this community
LET’S PLAY • It’s time to get down to fun and games, from the right way to get started to the funkiest mods to a look at the most impressive builds of the Minecraft community
GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT • Here’s the best way to get your Minecraft journey started
A CREATOR’S PARADISE • These builds demonstrate that what you can make in Minecraft is limited only by your imagination
THE WIDE WORLD OF MODS • Whether you want to chase Pokémon characters or party all night in Miami, these add-ons make your Minecraft dreams come true
BUILDING EVERYTHING ON EARTH • At the dawn of the pandemic, a YouTube star issued a challenge to Minecrafters to replicate all the constructions of human civilization. Four years later, they are still going strong
TIME Minecraft
Credits
CLOSING WORDS • Slay the Ender Dragon and You Get to Read a Poem
A WORLD LIKE NO OTHER
