Astonishing 112 million Monthly Players

01.30.2023

Anyone who has been paying attention to Minecraft knows that it's experiencing a resurgence. But now we can quantify that to some extent.

Microsoft told Business Insider this week that Minecraft has risen to 112 million monthly users, a 20 million increase on the October 2018 figures. This is a game that's ten years old and is still relevant.

There are many explanations for the recent popularity of Minecraft. A new update was released around the ten-year anniversary and included a lot more content. PewDiePie, a 100 million-subscriber YouTuber, is credited for bringing the game back to the “influencer” scene. His channel was devoted to Minecraft for the past few months. Then there's Fortnite's slow decline as players move on from the megahit to other games, such as Minecraft.

Minecraft's rise is even greater when you consider that it is not free on most platforms like Fortnite. Although some may credit Microsoft for including it in the Xbox Game Pass to increase its playercount, others may not.

Fortnite seems to be aware that Minecraft is attracting players. This is why we have seen the birth and dedication to building Creative Mode in that game. Minecraft is still the original and should continue to grow its popularity with future releases such as Minecraft Dungeons. This combines the original with Diablo-like looting and dungeons.

Overall, the common refrain I hear from Minecraft players is that it's a game people love to return to after a while. In this case, there was a snowball effect in which so many people returned to it together that it felt like old friends could all join the game at the same time and have as much fun now as they did 3-8 years ago.

Although it seemed odd at the time, Microsoft's purchase of Minecraft for $2.5 billion was a smart move. They now have one of the most popular games in the world. I'm willing to wager that Minecraft has 112 million monthly users, which is more than Fortnite right now. It may even be competing with mobile games at that scale. It's truly amazing.

Expect Minecraft to be around forever. It will continue to be relevant with future releases like Minecraft Dungeons, Minecraft Earth, and the AR play that will target Pokemon GO next.