Minecraft becomes first ever game to sell over 300 million copies

Minecraft, the seminal game that has been around for more than a decade, has become the first ever video game to sell over 300 million copies.

It's not hard to believe. Minecraft has managed to capture an audience in ways that so few games have. From its humble beginnings, to the acquisition by Microsoft, Minecraft has always been a success and a best-seller. The success can be put down to its easy pick-up-and-play nature as well as the wave of content creators who have made videos on YouTube.

Minecraft goes through yearly updates to introduce new mechanics

300 million copies is a lot. According to PC Gamer, 62 million of those units were in the last two-and-a-half years. Now admittedly, this is a game that has released countless versions across several console generations and mobile platforms. I myself have bought Minecraft five times and my children own three versions each.

300 million is a staggering number, especially when you look to the game in second place, Grand Theft Auto V which is sat on 185 million copies. This news comes from Minecraft Live, a yearly event that celebrates the game in myriad ways. Mojang, the developers of the game said "As we approach the 15th anniversary, Minecraft remains one of the best-selling games of all time, with over 300 million copies sold, a milestone no one could have dreamed of when we were all placing our first blocks."

This amazing sales stat comes alongside other stats and announcements, including the winner of the mob vote, which was the armadillo that will live in the savanna biome. Some more ridiculously fun stats reported are, 15 million skeletons slayed by players; 8.8 million pickaxes crafted, 6.7 million diamonds discovered and 700,000 cakes made.

As someone who has constantly had Minecraft in my games rotation for over ten years, I can easily believe these stats, and I'm proud to be a player.