Minecraft, as of March 2021, is the second best-selling game of all time after Tetris, going by Digital Trends rating.
The gaming top voice Newzoo also rates the computerized sandbox, Minecraft, as the most popular PC game as of May 2021.
These instances only sound the depth of the media buzz that has been going around the franchise all these many years.
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That’s quite a feat for a game that was reportedly created in six days in May 2009 and saw its full release a decade ago. But is Minecraft still that popular as we talk? If yes, how popular is it?
For instance, how many people still play the game across the world or in some specific countries and regions?
How much presence does it enjoy, and how much activity does it generate on the Worldwide Web? What is its current acceptance rate generally?
Grab some snacks and seeps, and come with me because, in this post, we will discuss such current stats and demographics around the Minecraft sensation.
Ready? Let’s go.
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First Thing To Know: Covid-19 Was (Is?) A Boon To Minecraft
You may have heard a lot recently about how the world billionaires generally made more money during the pandemic.
Now I can tell you that Minecraft is a major player in the Covid Era net worth upgrade for Bill Gates and their co-magnates.
How sure am I here? This is how:
While the viral scourge was in its full swing in October 2020, PC Mag reported “an increase of nearly 90% in multiplayer sessions’ ‘ for Minecraft and from its owner Mojang Studios.
The report also informs that the game had crossed the 131 million threshold for the monthly active users (MAU). The official Mojang Studios source quoted actually said they were almost getting to 132 million MAU at the time.
Tech news leader The Verge corroborates that report in a different context, posting a 25% increase in new Minecraft players and a 40% surge in multiplayer sessions in April of that turbulent (and my TTS would say “double-length”) year.
The Verge also reported about the game finally touching the 200 million sales ceiling during the year. The MAU still stood at 126 million then.
Year-on-year data presented by the app industry media authority Business of Apps reveals that Minecraft’s 2020 MAU was significantly better than other years since 2014 when Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios at a whopping $2.5 billion.
The comparative report shows that the MAU figure jumped all the way from 91 million the previous year, a 40 million (or 44%) spike.
You may have guessed it right: These and other sources cite the fact that more people stayed indoors during the pandemic as being responsible for these sharp stats increases.
As far as Minecraft goes, the pandemic scourge turns out to be a boon rather than a bane. But, how have the stats fared since the scourge is gradually dying down?
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A Survey Of The Minecraft Gamer Real World – Currently And Recently
No doubt, there can hardly be a better way to know the present state of Minecraft other than what real gamers are doing and saying about it. So, let’s get out there and survey the real world of the game. Let’s kick off by getting some real-time facts:
How Many People Are Playing Minecraft Online As We Talk?
I just looked up Active Player IO’s live stats showing that there are 1,058,505 gamers currently playing Minecraft as I type this word by 15:30 GMT on June 16, 2021.
Around the same time (less than a minute difference), Player Counter live stats report 2,936,901 players.
The huge disparity between these two live accounts may suggest that they are estimates. So they are only meant to give you an idea about the current number of Minecraft players online.
Also, realize that the figures do not consider those playing offline (either via a console or a desktop operating system).
Whatever the case may be, the idea from these live reports is good. It helps us to know one thing: there are at least a million people hooked to Minecraft across the world right now. That means that the game remains quite popular as we talk.
Meanwhile, what do the figures say in your case (at the time you’re reading this)? Click here to view the Active Player IO account live or here to look up Player Counter’s version.
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How Many People Played Minecraft In Recent Days, Weeks, And Months?
The following table represents a section of Active Player IO’s account of the average Minecraft monthly players in the last 30 days and since January 2021:
| Month | Estimated Monthly Players | Percentage Monthly Gain/Loss |
| Last 30 days | 156,114,698 | 3% |
| May 2021 | 151,025,560 | 4% |
| April 2021 | 145,011,468 | 3% |
| March 2021 | 140,119,750 | 3% |
| February 2021 | 136,412,556 | 2% |
| January 2021 | 133,214,560 | -1% |
The table shows a 2.3% average monthly increase in the number of those who have played the game since the beginning of the year. You can check to get the current count whenever you happen to be reading this.
Supporting these figures and calculations, the Minecraft Franchise Fact Sheet published in April 2021 reveals that “more people are playing Minecraft than ever before”.
The document goes on to support this claim by posting about 140 million monthly active users for the game. Statista had already reported the same figure the previous month.
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By comparison, the Minecraft monthly active users by June 2020 were reported to be 131 million by Business of Apps. Other things considered, this represents an appreciation of about nine million MAU year on year.
Also significant is the report that up to 90 percent of the U.S. online population was aware of the Minecraft brand as of April 2021 according to the Minecraft Franchise Fact Sheet.
The document also reported that half of the North American and European kids aged between 9 and 11 played the sandbox game at the time. Similarly, over 35 million students in 115 countries were licensed to use the Minecraft Education Edition.
Then, Newzoo also found that 20% of all PC gamers in January 2021 played Minecraft. All these sources boil down to one fact: Minecraft remains popular in 2021.
How Much Has Minecraft Earned In 2021?
The April 2021 edition of the Minecraft Franchise Fact Sheet also reported that the game had sold over 238 million copies to date across the world.
Given that 200 million total sales had been reported for 2020, it means that as many as 38 million Minecraft copies have so far been sold within the 2021 fiscal year.
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Based on this, a year-to-date revenue of $58.95 million has been reported for Minecraft as of mid-June 2021.
To assist our comparison, the previous year’s revenue had ended at $142.6 million. In addition, the brand’s current net worth has been reported to be $1.7 billion.
The Fact Sheet also revealed that Minecraft Marketplace creators had generated over $350 million to date selling mods, add-ons, and more.
In addition, the document shows that up to one billion unique pieces of content had been downloaded directly from the Minecraft Marketplace.
Minecraft Age And Gender Demographics In 2021
Findings have shown that Minecraft is loved by players across many age boundaries. The game also draws fans from both genders.
As I earlier cited from the Minecraft Franchise Fact Sheet from April 2021, up to half of the children between the ages of 9 and 11 in Europe and North America were said to have played the video game.
However, a June 2021 report from the Hosting Tribunal has also shown that the overall average Minecraft player is a 24-year-old male.
This means that despite the huge popularity that Minecraft enjoys with children, its appeal extends far more into the adult world than many people seem to know.
Then, when it comes to the gender distribution of Minecraft players, the same source reported that up to 54% of boys between the ages of 3 and 12 play the game.
Compared to their female counterparts, the figure stands at 32%. So, the game has a sizable – even if not equal – chunk of each gender playing it.
That same source reports that up to 53% of children between the ages of 6 and 8 play Minecraft. Again, more than 68% of those between the ages of 9 and 12 are active Minecraft players.
According to the report, more than half of the number say that they play the game at least two times a week.
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Minecraft’s Recent Online Video Views
It was reported in December 2020 that Minecraft was the most-watched game on YouTube after it garnered up to 201 billion views on the video hosting platform during the year. In addition, Minecraft was also reported to be the top choice for viewers to watch live.
That figure becomes more significant if you compare it with the competition. For instance, Roblox’s second position was a far cry with 75 billion views.
Next came Garena Free Fire with 72 billion views. Then, the 4th and 5th positions respectively went to Grand Theft Auto V (70 billion views) and Fortnite (67 billion views).
So, as far as YouTube views were concerned, Minecraft took a thoroughly clear lead ahead of the competition in 2020.
Minecraft went ahead to confirm this leadership in terms of live game views. Garena Free Fire and Fortnite came second and third respectively.
But how has this been since January 2021? Has Minecraft’s YouTube form persisted into the following year? Let’s see:
As of June 2021, Semrush’s live blog reports show that ‘Minecraft’ remains the all-time most searched keyword on YouTube globally. The runners-up are Fortnite, Tik-Tok, PUBG, ASMR, and BTS.
In the US, Minecraft takes the second position behind Fortnite, and ahead of Tik-Tok, PUBG, ASMR, and BTS.
Official live stats from YouTube Gaming shows that Minecraft has the third-largest number of views worldwide (as at the time of writing this article) with 16,000 people watching.
It comes behind Garena Free Fire (with 39,000 watching), and Apex Legends (18,000). What are the figures when you happen to be reading this? Click here to find out.
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Minecraft In Recent News
Minecraft Dungeon Scooped More Than 11.5 Million Unique Players In 365 Days
Minecraft Dungeon, one of the most recent spin-offs of the game, was released in May 2020.
Then, at the celebration of the spin-off’s first birthday in May 2021, an official Mojang Studio statement reportedly revealed that the spin-off had already garnered over 11.5 million unique players in 232 countries and territories.
To be sure, this is not about Minecraft itself exactly. But then, it shows that widespread interest in the Minecraft Universe persists in 2021.
Below are other interesting official stats said to have been released by Mojang Studios on the first anniversary of Minecraft Dungeon. They all reveal how profoundly players have engaged with the game in the last year:
- Players have dealt up to 1.5 quadrillion damages.
- Up to 13 billion items have been used.
- Up to 527 million TNTs have been thrown.
- Up to 419 billion blocks have been walked.
- The weapons players used the most are the Exploding Crossbow, the Fire Thrower, and the Rapid Crossbow.
- The armors players like the most are the Wolf Armor, the Mystery Armor, and the Fox Armor.
- The most popular ‘Artifacts’ among the players were the Boots of Swiftness, the Gong of Weakening, and the Death Cap Mushroom.
- The most-used melee weapons in the Apocalypse mode are the Whirlwind, the Double Axe, and the Fighter’s Bindings.
- Players have used more than 1.1 billion Health Potions.
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The Best Minecraft Players In 2021 By Sportskeeda
In June 2021, the global sports/esports news giant Sportskeeda released what they consider the five best Minecraft players at the moment.
Here are the honorees and what you need to know about them:
Number 1: Technoblade
Technoblade’s real name is Dave. He is a member of the Minecraft server Dream SMP. Born on June 1, 1999, Technoblade is an American gamer and YouTuber.
Giving a hint as to why he rated Technoblade the best Minecraft player of 2021, Sportskeeda’s Hannah Dahlberg says the gamer has been distinguished for his player-versus-player combat skills as well as for his knowledge of Minecraft’s mechanics and how to take advantage of them.
As for some visible achievements that can be attributed to Technoblade, Dahlberg says the following:
- Technoblade never placed lower than the top ten in any championship he has ever participated in. Apart from that, he has been a member of two winning teams.
- Technoblade has defeated Minecraft Hardcore Mode by using a steering wheel as a controller.
- The gamer has sustained some of the most outstanding Bedwards winning streaks. This includes Technoblade’s position as the first-ever competitor to sustain a 1,000 game winning streak on Hypixel.
- Technoblade has distinguished himself for having won a player-versus-player match against Dream after which he went home with a $100,000 prize for the feat.
Number 2: Illumina
Known as Kye outside the gaming world, Illumina is a Canadian gamer who was born some 49 days after Technoblade was born, that is, July 19, 1999.
Everywhere I asked, I noticed that Illumina is admired in the world of Minecraft especially for his ability as a speedrunner in the game.
Unsurprisingly, it’s also the first thing Dahlberg acknowledges about Illumina as the reason for including him in the highly enviable list.
Among other unique speed run records held by Illumina, Dahlberg informs that he has been recognized in the 2021 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, 2021.
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Number 3: Fruitberries
Born as Josh on August 28, 2002, Fruitberries is another Canadian YouTuber and gamer on Sportskeeda’s list of the best Minecraft players of 2021.
Among other reasons for including Fruitberries on his list, Dahlberg mentions that he has two team wins and two individual wins to his credit.
This includes his team winning the first championship he ever participated in. The writer also noted that Fruitberries enjoys some of the most enviable speedrunning records in Minecraft alongside Illumina.
Number 4: Dream
Dream is known as ‘Clay’ in the everyday world. Friends also call him ‘DreamWasTaken’. He runs seven YouTube channels which are reported to have garnered over 33 million subscriptions and over two billion views.
Dahlberg acknowledges that Dream remains a great Minecraft player in spite of having been caught cheating with a performance-enhancing mod.
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Number 5: PeteZahHutt
Brandon Clemont (alias PeteZahHutt) is an American Minecraft YouTuber born on March 14, 1997.
Among other reasons for including PeteZahHutt on this list, Dahlberg mentions that he is one of two competitors who have consistently maintained their spot on the top ten individual leaderboards.
Then, he adds to that by being the only competitor to have never left the top five individuals on the leaderboard.
17-year-old Minecraft Gamer Breaks Two Guinness World Records
This is a big one for all Minecraft lovers. The 17-year-old UK gamer and Twitch star holding the aces is Thomas Simons. He is known as TommyInnit in the gaming world.
Guinness World Records (GWR) officially reports in June 2021 that Thomas Simons has broken two separate records.
First off, his Twitch channel has the highest following on the platform. The channel had a little above five million followers in May of 2021 when GWR checked it out. But, following the announcement, the channel soon snowballed to nearly six million followers.
On a second count, Simons has the most number of views for Minecraft on a single Twitch stream.
He hit the mark in The Dream SMP Finale that was held in January of 2021. According to GWR, a record 650,237 viewers witnessed the occasion live.
Simons joined the Dream SMP server as the 9th member on America’s Independence Day, July 4, 2020. Since then, the dude has played a prominent role in many storylines on the prestigious Minecraft server.
Simons’ Twitch career kicked off in 2018. He has been notable for his Minecraft live streams on the platform.
He does the same also on YouTube where his main channel has over 9.5 million subscribers according to Guinness World Records. He has two other thriving YouTube channels that enjoy 2.17 million and 3.4 million subscribers respectively.
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The Winners At The Minecraft Championship 14 (MCC 14)
The 14th Minecraft Championship (MCC 14) held this year 2021. It kicked off at 8:00 p.m. BST on May 29, 2021.
As usual, 10 teams identified with unique colors participated. Here are the teams, their members, and how they fared at the tournament:
| Position | Teams | Team members |
| 1st | Aqua Axolotls | HBomb94 Wisp Smajor1995 Solidarity |
| 2nd | Blue Bats | Katherine Elizabeth Punz Sapnap Seapeekay |
| 3rd | Purple Pandas | InTheLittlewood PeteZahHutt Grian TheOrionSound |
| 4th | Red Rabbits | Tubbo TommyInnit Vikkstar Nihachu |
| 5th | Yellow Yaks | Krtzyy SB737 Sylvee DanTDM |
| 6th | Pink Parrots | Fundy JackmanifoldTV Wilbursoot Ph1LzA |
| 7th | Green Guardians | Dream Quackity CaptainSparkelz GeorgeNotFound |
| 8th | Orange Ocelots | Eret KaraCorvus Quig Shubble |
| 9th | Cyan Creepers | BadBoyHalo CaptainPuffy Skeppy TapL |
| 10th | Lime Llamas | Fruitberries RenDog Cubfan135 FalseSymmetry |
Some fun facts about the tournament are:
- It is organized by Noxcrew, a global community of creators who share a common love of Minecraft.
- It features eight mini games that are selected by the participants.
- Minecraft Championship 14 was the first in the Season 2 of the tournament.
- The tournament only lasted less than 3 hours.
- There were three first-time participants at the Minecraft Championship 14. They were BadBoyHalo, JackmanifoldTV, and Skeppy.
- Technoblade was conspicuously missing at the Minecraft Championship 14. It was his third miss since his debut at the MCC 2.
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Final Words
If the numbers are anything to go by, then Minecraft is here to stay.
While Minecraft is more suitably defined as a kids’ game, it has grown beyond the industry and even stretched into the education niche, so much so that most parents now see the educational value rather than looking at it with disproving eyes.
