For those of you who've been living without access to a computer this far, good job! Now, Minecraft. This game is a sandbox developed by Mojang Studios from Sweden. The entire game was made in the Java programming language by a guy named Markus Persson, or Notch as friends would call him. 

Minecraft, now famous all around the world, has had a slow debut after its final full launch in November of 2011. Besides being a video game for the PC, Minecraft has made it to consoles and portable devices in the meantime. And also, it become the best-selling video game of all time, with more than 200 million copies sold, and over 140 million active users per month in 2021.



A Brief History Of Minecraft

As mentioned, Minecraft is the creation of Swedish coder Markus "Notch" Persson. His background in gaming and programming was with jAalbum and King studios before coming up with the sandbox. In his off-hours, Markus came up with a few prototypes for Minecraft, inspired by all of the more popular titles of that time. RubyDung was one of the games that inspired him, a base-builder, as well as Infiniminer, a block-based game of mining. This is basically how Minecraft was born in Markus's mind.





The very first edition of Minecraft was called Java and was ready after just one weekend of hard work that Markus had put in in May of 2009. On May 17th, the game was released on a forum where independent game developers would meet, TIGSource. Feedback immediately started pouring in, so Markus improved the game to the Classic Version that we know about today. After a ton more upgrades and updates, Notch came up with the Indev and Indevs version, and then with the very first major update nicknamed Alpha, which came out in June of 2010. Minecraft started to make the news right about that time.

Notch started to see the potential, so he quit his job to be able to develop Minecraft further. Mojang, his own company of game development, was founded with the money earned from the vanilla versions of the game. With a new team, it was easier for the group to develop new blocks, mobs, mechanics, resources and so on, as well as introducing the notorious Survival Mode Minecraft is so famous for. The official launch of the complete Minecraft game was November 18th 2011.



The Many Different Versions Of Minecraft

Although the base game of Minecraft is the same on all fronts, there are many different versions of the game that are based on the platforms they’re played on. Minecraft can now be played on literally any platform. This was not the case just a few years back, but thanks to the advancements in recreating games on different platforms, it is now a totally different situation for Minecraft fans regardless of their preferred method of gaming.

The most famous and common version of Minecraft is the Java Edition. This edition can be played on Windows, Mac and Linux devices. It is the official and original version of the game, with all of the after upgrades, naturally. You can find this version at Minecraft.net and the cost of the game at the time of writing this article is $26,95. This version is not suitable for cross-platform play with the Bedrock edition.





Minecraft for Windows is the next version of the game. This version can be played on all Windows 10 and above devices, as well as with a VR headset if you have one. The game can be bought online from the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 for $29,99. The main difference here from the original Java edition is the cross-platform capabilities of gameplay with all other Bedrock versions.

A very popular version as of late is Minecraft for Mobile Devices. This version has exploded in sales in recent years, with the phones and other handheld devices taking central stage in the industry. You can play this version of the game on all phones running iOS, Android or Amazon operating systems, as well as tablets. You can naturally find this version on the respective stores of the operating systems, for the low price of just $6,99. The game is compatible with cross-platform play on all Bedrock editions.

Being such a big deal for gamers, it was natural for Xbox to release their own version of Minecraft. The Minecraft for Xbox version is priced at $19,99 and can be purchased on the Xbox Store or the Microsoft Store. This can also be used for cross-platform play for all Bedrock versions of the game. The same goes for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and 5, all other Xbox consoles, the PS Vita, Wii U and the 3DS, with the note that for the last two the price is set at $29,99 a pop.

Finally, there’s a bunch of Minecraft versions that you don’t even need to pay for. Or are very cheap, considering you’re still in school and are reading this blog post, for some reason. The first free Minecraft version is that for China. You can only be from China and play it in the country, otherwise, you can’t access this version. It can be played on Windows, Apple or Android devices. 

The other free version of Minecraft is the one designed for the Raspberry PI devices for learning. The PI edition was designed for teaching and tinkering and is available at no charge all over the world. Lastly, Minecraft: Education Edition is priced at 5-12 bucks US and is developed for schools, camps and clubs, aimed at creating and delivering lessons no matter the subject at hand.



Main Differences Of Minecraft Versions

Finally, there’s a bunch of Minecraft versions that you don’t even need to pay for. Or are very cheap, considering you’re still in school and are reading this blog post, for some reason. The first free Minecraft version is that for China. You can only be from China and play it in the country, otherwise, you can’t access this version. It can be played on Windows, Apple or Android devices. 





The other free version of Minecraft is the one designed for the Raspberry PI devices for learning. The PI edition was designed for teaching and tinkering and is available at no charge all over the world. Lastly, Minecraft: Education Edition is priced at 5-12 bucks US and is developed for schools, camps and clubs, aimed at creating and delivering lessons no matter the subject at hand.



Main Differences Of Minecraft Versions

Now that we've covered the overall aspects of the differently priced Minecraft versions, let's look at the basic versions and compare them. Starting with Java, the main and primary version of this block builder. Java is the first version of the game, released in the format we all know back in 2009. The version runs Javascript, hence the name, which is a system that's commonly used with games made for Windows, Mac and Linux-based computers.

In order to play Minecraft Java, a Mojang account is required. The version comes with a launcher, in which players can change the different versions of the game they wish to play at a certain moment, based on their purchased ones. The Java Edition comes with many features that are far more technical than those of other versions, but it is also one of the more easily modifiable versions of this complex builder of worlds. If you're into modifications for Minecraft, this is the version of the game you should look into.

Next comes Minecraft Bedrock. This version of the game runs on pretty much all devices that you can think of. Here are all of them, just to make sure we're covering them all: Windows 10 and up devices, Windows 10 Phone, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, Kindle Fire/Fire TV from Amazon, Gear VR, Oculus, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows Mixed Reality. As you can see, this is probably the most permissive version of Minecraft you can get, allowing access to nearly all popular devices and smooth gameplay on desk-based or handheld terminals.





Out of all of the versions of the game out there, Bedrock is probably the most special. This is the youngest Minecraft edition ever made so far. It was released in order to replace an older version, the Legacy Console Edition, with the help of the now-famous "Better Together" update. With this update, you can play on all devices together with friends, no matter who uses which terminal, on one server that's hosted through the client. One player can be the host and have the game running on their Xbox One, for example, and another, using the Nintendo witch, can play with them, or the other way around.

Minecraft Bedrock is an inferior version of the game to the one named Java. This is because Bedrock lacks certain features that the players who've installed the Java one can enjoy, as well as being a tad more difficult to modify. Still, Minecraft Bedrock is the sole version of the block builder in which you gain access to the Marketplace. Here you can buy maps made by the community, as well as other modifications, at a quality that's assured by the producers of the main title. The possibilities in the Marketplace are endless.

Another important version of the game is Minecraft Education. This version works on devices running Windows 10, Mac, iOS and other operating systems. This version is made as a tool for education, made to turn the idea of learning into a more accessible activity for children. The Education edition is far less accessible than the rest. You need to be a member of a school or provide services in the educational domain, in order to be able to buy it. Librarians, museum curators, homeschooling professionals, as well as teachers and students are allowed to use it at a special price.

Minecraft Education comes with lessons for all topics a kid might want to learn about, such as maths, sciences, history, geography and even music and other arts. The game is designed so that students never fall off of the focusing on the lesson aspect in front of them. Teachers, while logged in, have the ability to oversee the activity of the students, or players, that participate in one classroom at a certain class. When players use certain blocks which can be disruptive to the idea of learning about a new topic, the teacher can simply ban that unwanted block.



Fun Facts About Minecraft

As you can probably tell Minecraft is not your typical game. It is a completely different experience from anything you’ve ever tried. With an almost ancient design, unique mechanics and a pointless building journey, you are in for whatever experience you want. There are no rules if you’re not in survival mode. You can recreate any building on earth, including your house, putting one tiny block on top of the other.

Here are some fun facts about Minecraft you’re most likely unaware of:

-Minecraft Java was created in just 6 days, Markus Persson putting together the now-famous sandbox game in record time, taking him not even a week to complete. That's passion!





-Minecraft has originally named something in the realms of Cave Game, Stone Game, and a few other names. It was later deemed Minecraft: Order of the Stone. Finally, the word Minecraft was chosen;

-Creepers, probably the strangest of all NPCs in Minecraft, is actually an error in coding. The predator is electrically charged and has a face of greeny death. The initial try was for a pig, not a monster;

-Ghasts, another type of creature from the Minecraft universe, gets its sounding voice from... real-world cats! This ungodly flyer is creepy enough, let alone when you know the sounds it makes is from a mighty cat coming out of her sleep!

-Every 10000th time you log in to play, Minecraft's name will turn into “Minceraft”, and nobody knows why.