Block-breaking news: Notch teases a spiritual successor to Minecraft

Minecraft is a force of nature that nearly every single person over the age of 15 has either played or watched on YouTube, and its creator, Markus Persson (better known as Notch), said he has “basically announced” Minecraft 2, or at least a game in a similar vein.

Shortly after the turn of the New Year, Notch posted a survey on X asking fans what type of game they would like to see him make next. The options were Minecraft 2 or a retro-inspired roguelike. Nearly a quarter of a million people voted, with the unsurprising majority asking for Minecraft 2.

A few days later, he responded to a question, saying he “basically announced Minecraft 2.” But it’s not that simple. Persson sold the rights to Minecraft and his company to Microsoft, and Minecraft still gets regular updates and content additions that keep it one of the most-played games in the world. This means that Persson can’t name the follow-up Minecraft 2, and he claims he couldn’t create any sort of game with terrain modification for a year after selling the company.

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I basically announced minecraft 2.

I thought that maybe people ACTUALLY do want me to make another game that's super similar to the first one, and I'm loving working on games again.

I don't super duper care exactly which game I make first (or even if I make more), but I do know…

— notch (@notch) January 3, 2025

Whatever Persson’s next title is, it legally can’t share the name of its predecessor, and he also said, “I intend to do this in a way that in no way tries to sneakily infringe on the incredible work the Mojang team is doing.”

From the way he phrased his posts, it’s clear that the successor to Minecraft isn’t under development yet. He warns there’s a chance the game might not make it to release. Even if it does, this title isn’t something you should expect too soon — although the original Minecraft did release in early alpha within a year of Mojang’s founding.

Minecraft-style games have only grown in popularity throughout the years, so Persson has a rich playing field to draw inspiration from. Titles like Palworld, Terraria, and even Ark: Survival Evolved all have similar gameplay elements with significant differences in style, and a new game from the man who built Minecraft would be an interesting addition.