Mojang Gets A New Name As Minecraft Hits Huge Sales Milestone

Over the weekend, Minecraft hit a pretty major milestone: it turned 11 years old. While Minecraft version 1.0 didn't release until November 2011, the first in-development version Notch made available to the public, known as Minecraft Classic these days, was released on May 16th, 2009. In the past 11 years, Minecraft has turned into the best-selling game of all time, so with Minecraft's developer Mojang staring down a new decade, the company has decided to make some changes.

As detailed over on the Minecraft website, Mojang has announced a rebrand of sorts. From here on out, it'll be known as Mojang Studios. It isn't a massive change, but it's being made to reflect the fact that Mojang is no now longer a single studio; instead, Mojang is comprised of several studios around the world.

Along with this new name, we're also getting a new logo. "While we grew very attached to the dragon/apple/candle/sewing machine sitting next to our name during our first decade of existence, the new logo is a perfect match for the next one," Mojang's Thomas Wiborgh wrote. "But we're not here to tell you exactly what it is, or what it means. Just as with Minecraft, that's up to you."

Elsewhere on the internet, Mojang Studios head Helen Chiang revealed that Minecraft has sold 200 million copies to date, which is a truly staggering number. Moreover, Minecraft has 126 million players each and every month, and the Minecraft Education Collection that was launched for those stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic has been downloaded 50 million times since releasing on March 24th.

So, not only is Minecraft celebrating 200 million sales for its 11th birthday, but Mojang Studios is also getting a new name with fresh branding. We'll see what the newly-christened Mojang Studios does over the next decade, so stay tuned.