Table of Contents
Who this is for: Gamers curious about Minecraft’s origins and anyone interested in Swedish gaming success stories.
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Minecraft’s Swedish Origins
Minecraft is indeed Swedish in origin, created by Swedish game developer Markus “Notch” Persson in 2009. The game was developed by Mojang Studios, a Swedish video game company founded by Notch himself in Stockholm. So while Minecraft is a game, not a company, it was created by a Swedish company and developer.
The Story Behind Mojang Studios
Mojang Studios started as a small indie game development studio in Sweden. Notch began working on Minecraft as a personal project, drawing inspiration from games like Dwarf Fortress and Infiniminer. The company grew rapidly as Minecraft gained popularity, eventually becoming one of Sweden’s most successful tech exports.
Microsoft’s Acquisition
In 2014, Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios for $2.5 billion, making it one of the largest gaming acquisitions at the time. Despite the acquisition, Mojang Studios continues to operate from Sweden and maintains its Swedish identity. The development team still works from their Stockholm headquarters, preserving the company’s Scandinavian roots.
Why English First?
Although created by a Swedish developer, Minecraft was initially released in English rather than Swedish. This strategic decision helped the game reach a global audience from the start. Notch understood that English would give Minecraft the best chance of international success, which proved to be the right call given the game’s worldwide popularity.
Current Status
Today, Minecraft remains one of the best-selling video games of all time, with over 300 million copies sold worldwide. While Microsoft now owns the intellectual property, the game’s Swedish heritage is still celebrated, and Mojang Studios continues to develop new content and updates from Sweden. If you’re interested in experiencing this Swedish gaming phenomenon yourself, there are plenty of ways to dive into the blocky world that started in Stockholm.
TL;DR
Minecraft is a Swedish game created by developer Markus “Notch” Persson and Swedish company Mojang Studios in 2009, though Microsoft acquired the company in 2014.
