On 17 May 2009, the behemoth sandbox title Minecraft began its gradual conquest of the videogaming world.

It’s been 10 years since then, and the procedural game with a blocky world has gone through numerous changes to get to where it is today. From tiny updates adding stray pandas to mega patches expanding the game’s creative limits, most long-time fans will agree that Minecraft is now a far-cry from its original indie roots.

With versions on almost every modern console out there (including the Switch, New 3DS, and Wii U), it’s no surprise that the franchise has now sold 176 million copies to date, according to Microsoft. This means that the game managed to sell 20 million more copies ever since Microsoft’s previous report several months ago! Minecraft has powering on so steadily that even the publisher saw no point in creating a follow-up or sequel!

The series has not been without a few slip-ups, however. One controversy includes Notch (the game’s original creator) getting banned from the game’s 10th anniversary celebrations because of his political views. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch version of the game has also been experiencing some technical issues, although the game’s current development team has since taken proactive action to fix them based on community feedback.

Will the 3D voxel game continue to grow in years to come? It’s hard to tell – but there’s little doubt that it has already touched the lives of millions of gamers young and old. Minecraft is indisputably part of our shared human history now.

What are your thoughts on the Minecraft series? Are you excited for its boundless future, or are you still building your ideal world already? Let us know with your comments below!