Minecraft Revenue And Player Statistics In 2026

Minecraft was launched in 2011, a creation of Markus Persson and Jens Bergensten. The company behind the development of the game is Mojang Studios.

Over the years, Minecraft has captivated hundreds of millions of players from across the world from different age groups. Minecraft is a 3D sandbox game with no particular goals players must accomplish.

This gives people much freedom to pursue whatever they want at their own pace, making Minecraft such a hit with many people.

There are different versions of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Legacy Console Edition, Minecraft Education, Minecraft China, and other versions for the various operating systems.

If you too are an avid gamer and a fan of Minecraft, you will find this post interesting. Today, I’ll discuss the game and talk about its revenue and user statistics. This will give you an image of how big Minecraft is at the moment.

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Minecraft Revenue Statistics

Let’s talk about its revenue first.

1. Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time

As of 2021, Minecraft had sold over 238 million copies, and that figure is likely higher by now once the current sales get updated. This number combines sales from all the game’s platforms, including PCs and gaming consoles.

The 238 million copies sold represents a massive jump from the 100 million copies the game sold in 2016. It has been an upward trend ever since. Minecraft was followed by Grand Theft Auto V at 180 million and Tetris at 100 million.

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2. Minecraft has generated over $840 million in mobile revenue between 2015 and 2022 worldwide

The game brought in $102.6 million in annual mobile revenue in 2022, a significant drop from the $157.65 million in 2021, the best-performing year. Here’s a quick breakdown of the annual mobile revenue since 2015.

YEAR	REVENUE IN MILLIONS
2022	102.6
2021	157.65
2020	140.23
2019	112.86
2018	83.06
2017	80.9
2016	75.92
2015	89.31

3. Microsoft bought Minecraft in 2014

Mojang, the company behind the development, distribution, and licensing of Minecraft, was bought by Microsoft in September 2014 for $2.5 billion. This sale opened the doors for Minecraft to be available on platforms like Xbox.

Before Microsoft acquired Minecraft, other companies had previously approached Markus Persson, the game developer, but he turned them down. These companies included Electronic Arts, Valve Corporation, and Activision Blizzard.

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4. The Xbox version of Minecraft had sold 5.43 million copies worldwide as of 2020

Since the game was made available for Xbox, Minecraft has sold 5.43 million copies across the globe. Most of these sales are concentrated in North America, with over 3.23 million copies sold.

5. Minecraft Pocket Edition made $133 million in 2021

This represented a steady revenue increase from 2012 when the game brought in only three million dollars. The second-best performing year was 2020, with $113 million, then 2019, with $105 million.

6. The Minecraft marketplace is one of the most profitable among video games

Modders on Minecraft have made over $350 million since the game was launched over a decade ago, making the Minecraft marketplace one of the largest in the world.

These sales include over a billion unique pieces of content like maps, texture packs, and character skins created by different modders worldwide.

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7. As of 2023, over $1.8 million has been awarded as prize money for various Minecraft tournaments

Since its launch, Minecraft has overseen 92 major tournaments between 2018 and 2023, with different players winning prize money cumulatively amounting to $1,843,028. Some of the highest-paying tournaments gave out about $100,000, while the highest-grossing Minecraft player, Technoblade, has made over $120,000.

Players from the United States have cumulatively won $1,073,637, which is over $800,000 more than their closest competitor, the United Kingdom.

8. Minecraft Earth was shut down in 2021 due to low revenue returns

This version of Minecraft failed to leave an impact because it was based on the actual movements of players in the real world. Coinciding with the lengthy COVID-19 lockdown as it played a massive role in its downfall, the game was finally shut down in 2021 after failing to cross the $500,000 lifetime revenue mark.

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9. Minecraft has made $3 billion in lifetime game sales as of 2021

Since it was launched, this sandbox game has made a total of $3 billion from in-game sales and merchandise. 2018 was the best-performing year, with over $500 million in sales, while 2014 had the lowest revenue, with $165 million.

Here’s a breakdown of how much the game has been bringing in since 2012.

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YEAR	REVENUE
2012	$211 million
2013	$326 million
2014	$165 million
2015	$350 million
2016	$420 million
2017	$370 million
2018	$500 million
2019	$375 million
2020	$415 million
2021	$380 million

Minecraft Player Statistics

Let’s now dig into Minecraft player stats.

1. Minecraft had 141 million active players worldwide as of 2022

This number has been rising steadily over the years since the game was launched. Here’s how the number of players has been increasing since 2016.

YEAR	NUMBER OF ACTIVE PLAYERS (MILLIONS)
August 2021	141
March 2021	140
May 2020	126
October 2018	91
January 2018	74
February 2017	55
June 2016	40

2. The current number of online Minecraft players stands at over 2.9 million

There are over 2.9 million active Minecraft players online right now, a near-accurate estimation by Gohost Network Protocol (GNP). Furthermore, most active players are in the United States, Brazil, and Russia. Here’s a quick breakdown.

COUNTRY	PERCENTAGE OF ACTIVE ONLINE PLAYERS
United States	21.21%
Brazil	6.17%
Russia	5.59%
United Kingdom	5.06%
Germany	4.06%
Rest of the World	57.91%

3. Minecraft was the most-watched game on YouTube in 2021

Of all the video games that get massive exposure on YouTube, Minecraft took the crown for the most views, with a combined one trillion YouTube views as of 2021.

These views came from people watching the over 35,000 active Minecraft creator channels spanning 150 countries. According to YouTube, over 140 million people play the game on mobile devices, PCs, and game consoles and also follow Minecraft-related channels on social media sites like YouTube.

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4. The number of monthly Minecraft players peaked in 2020

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Minecraft players increased significantly by 25%. This year also saw the highest number of active monthly players, with over 130 million at its peak.

5. The United States has the highest number of Minecraft servers

A Minecraft server is a player-owned or business-run multiplayer Minecraft gaming server run on a dedicated machine running 24/7 or through a hosting provider.

Currently, the United States has the highest number of servers with 2,039, followed by the United Kingdom with 1,006 and Germany with 651.

Here are the top 10 countries with the most Minecraft servers for online players.

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COUNTRY	SERVERS
United States	2,039
United Kingdom	1,006
Germany	651
Russia	166
Canada	155
Serbia	144
Ukraine	126
France	125
Hungary	71
India	67

6. The largest Minecraft server, Hypixel, has over 11 million players as of 2023

The Hypixel server was created in 2013 by Collins Laflamme and Philippe Touchette for the Java edition of Minecraft. It’s available in 25 languages and holds the Guinness World Record for having the highest number of players in history, with 11,982,298.

The Chinese version of Hypixel is called Chypixel and also hosts many players from mainland China. The highest number ever recorded of concurrent players active simultaneously was 216,000 in April 2016, with the average concurrent players hitting 150,000 every month.

Hypixel also holds the world record for having the most games of any Minecraft server, with 43.

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7. Most Minecraft players use desktops more than any other device to play the game

51.7% of Minecraft players worldwide use their desktops to play the game, while 48.3% use mobile devices. Most players in the United States, Germany, and Brazil prefer desktops over mobile devices, while players in the United Kingdom and Mexico prefer mobile phones to desktops.

8. By usage, Minecraft was the second most popular game on iPads globally in 2022

There were 433,339 recorded active Minecraft players on iPad devices in 2022, coming second to Subway Surfers, which took the crown with 464,666 players. Minecraft has been available on iPad since 2016.

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9. There are over 400 million Minecraft players in China alone as of 2020

While the global estimation of Minecraft players is around 600 million, a majority of these players are found in China, with a total of 100 million players added in 2020 alone. This makes Minecraft the fastest-growing game in mainland China.

A critical factor that has accelerated the growth of this game in China is the User Generated Content feature, which has made it easy for developers to create different kinds of resources like skins that can be sold in the official marketplace.

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10. The total playtime for Minecraft stood at 68 million years as of 2020

On average, a full day of Minecraft translates to 20 minutes in real life. With that in mind, the total amount of time played by all players on Minecraft since its launch stood at 68 million years as of the end of 2020.

China alone, through its 300 million registered users, China alone racked up 400,000 years worth of playing within the first two years of the game being available in the vast country. This means that the people averaged 5.84 hours each day, consistently, for two years.

11. The education version of Minecraft is used by over 35 million students worldwide

Minecraft Education Edition was launched in 2016 on macOS, iPad, Windows, and Chromebooks, offering over 500 free lessons and curricula for schools across the globe.

According to data released in 2022, the platform is currently used by over 35 million students and teachers from 115 countries worldwide.

A school in Sweden made Minecraft a compulsory resource to be used in classes for 13-year-old students in 2013.

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12. The average age of Minecraft players is 24 years old

Most Minecraft players are young people with an average age of 24 years. Furthermore, boys play the game more than girls, while there are instances where children as young as three years have been found to enjoy the game, thanks to the simple and easy gameplay.

54% of boys aged three to 12 play Minecraft, while 46% of girls in the same age group find the game interesting enough to try.

The demographics change a little regarding boys and girls aged between six to eight years, with 68% of boys and only 32% of girls taking part in different versions of Minecraft.

In addition, about 80% of children play the game when in the company of family, friends, or online players. However, 50% of adults prefer to play Minecraft alone, while about 11% of parents participate in the game with their children.

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13. The Chinese edition of Minecraft was downloaded 425 million times in 2021

The main difference between Minecraft found in other parts of the world and the Chinese version is that in China, the game is free on PC and mobile, and instead of Mojang, it’s published by NetEase.

However, despite these impressive numbers, Minecraft still isn’t the most-played game in China; those bragging rights go to CrossFire which has over one billion registered users.

Here’s a breakdown of the cumulative Minecraft downloads in China since it was made available in 2017.

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YEAR	CUMULATIVE DOWNLOADS
2017	75 million
2018	150 million
2019	300 million
2020	400 million
2021	425 million

14. Minecraft Dungeons surpassed 10 million players in 2021

The Dungeons edition is one of the most loved Minecraft games, and it finally achieved the 10 million milestones in player numbers in 2021, a feat it only took 12 months to hit. Minecraft Dungeons is available on Xbox, PlayStation, PC, Switch, and Android.

The 10 million players have beaten the final boss, Arch-Illager, over 5.9 million times and have spent a combined 114 years in the Camp while spending about 6,660 years fighting all types of enemy mobs.

15. Minecraft was the seventh most-watched game on Twitch

Minecraft had 13.61 billion views on Twitch as of December 2022. The most popular game on Twitch was League of Legends which had 55.28 billion views. Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 most-watched games on Twitch.

GAME	TWITCH VIEWERS
League of Legends	55.28 billion
Fortnite	30.22 billion
Grand Theft Auto V	29.3 billion
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive	24.96 billion
DOTA 2	21.69 billion
Hearthstone	14.41 billion
Minecraft	13.61 billion
World of Warcraft	12.8 billion
Overwatch	8.34 billion
Rust	4.76 billion

16. Build the Earth is the largest Minecraft project to date

The entire project has over 4,000 players taking part in creating a community-driven effort to recreate the whole planet on Minecraft on a scale of 1:1. This project was started in 2020 by PippenFTS, a Minecraft content creator on YouTube.

17. PlayStation 4 is the most popular gaming console for Minecraft players

As of 2023, over 1.2 million hours of Minecraft were played on PlayStation 4 by about 30,360 players across 786,035 hours. PS5 followed this with 189,520 hours played by 7,482 players, the PS3 with 6,185 hours played by 319 players, and finally, PS VITA with 346 players playing 3,316 hours.

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Final Words

Minecraft has been around for a very long time and still attracts players of all ages and cultures.

These statistics prove that the game still has more to offer, and if you feel like diving into the fantastic world of Minecraft, this is the right time to try it.