Minecraft has been out for a while, and you might be wondering just how old this game is.
For many, the first Minecraft game might have been the Bedrock Edition; for others, it could have been the Java Edition. Many even played Minecraft before its official release. So, how old is this now-iconic blockbuilding game?
When did the Minecraft beta come out?
In 2009, Markus “Notch” Persson launched a website called minecraft.net. It was a humble little website where players could pay a small fee of only $5 to test out the ambitious new sandbox title.
And, boy, did they test the game alright. I was actually one of those people.
When did Minecraft Java Edition come out?
The Minecraft Beta version was available for a little over two years before receiving an official release in November 2011. When it was released, Notch stepped down, and Jens “Jeb” Bergensten took over development.
From then on, Minecraft sold like hotcakes. While it was only available on PC initially, Minecraft was later ported to other platforms, coming to mobile phones in 2011, the Xbox 360 in 2012, and most other platforms by mid-2014.
When did Minecraft Bedrock Edition come out?
In 2014, Microsoft acquired Minecraft for $2.5 billion and later created Bedrock Edition in 2017.
Unlike the original Minecraft Java Edition, Bedrock had modding limitations, but, more importantly, the code for the game allowed players easier connectivity to play together and eventually enabled crossplay between platforms. This was a big deal because it was one of the first games that allowed Nintendo and Xbox users to play together from different platforms, with PlayStation players joining in a few years later.
Minecraft versions and their release dates
Of course, Microsoft would later create many different sub-games based on Minecraft, such as Minecraft Story-mode, Minecraft Dungeons, Minecraft Legends, and many other games.
So, depending on which version of Minecraft you consider the first, Minecraft can be anywhere from six to 14 years old.
- Minecraft: Bedrock Edition—the default version for most players—is six years old.
- Minecraft: Early console and mobile phone releases—most seventh and eighth-gen consoles had their own—eight to 11 years old.
- Minecraft: Java Edition—the first full version of the game—is 12 years old.
- Minecraft: Beta Edition—the first publicly available version—is 14 years old.
Which is older? Minecraft or Roblox?
Believe it or not, Roblox is older than Minecraft. Roblox officially came out in 2006 and has been in beta since 2004. This might make it seem like Minecraft copied Roblox, but in reality, both games look and play differently. The only fundamental similarity between the two is they are both highly customizable and require a lot of creativity to be enjoyable.
No matter how you look at it, Minecraft is a game with a very rich and interesting history. The way Minecraft’s popularity keeps growing, we may have to update this article every year until the end of time.
If you are interested in Minecraft, you may be interested in learning about one of its biggest creators.
