Markus Persson

Markus Persson
Persson at the 2016 Game Developers Conference
Born
Markus Alexej Persson

(1979-06-01) 1 June 1979 (age 45)
Stockholm, Sweden
Other namesNotch
Occupations
Years active2004–present
Notable workMinecraft
TitleFounder of Mojang Studios
Spouse
Elin Zetterstrand
​
​
(m. 2011; div. 2012)​
[1][2]
Children1

Markus Alexej Persson (/ˈpɪərsən/ ⓘ PEER-sən, Swedish: [ˈmǎrːkɵs ˈpæ̌ːʂɔn] ⓘ; born 1 June 1979), also known as Notch, is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is the creator of Minecraft, which is the best-selling video game in history. He founded the video game development company Mojang Studios in 2009.

Persson began developing video games at an early age. His commercial success began after he published an early version of Minecraft in 2009. Prior to the game's official retail release in 2011, it had sold over ten million copies.[3][4] After this point Persson stood down as the lead designer and transferred his creative authority to Jens Bergensten.[5] In September 2014 Persson announced on his personal website that he had concluded he "[didn't have the connection to his fans he thought he had]", that he had "become a symbol", and that he did not wish to be responsible for Mojang's increasingly large operation.[6] He left Mojang in November of that year, selling his company to Microsoft reportedly for US$2.5 billion.[7][8] The acquisition made Persson a billionaire.

Since 2016 several of Persson's posts on Twitter regarding homosexuality, race, and transgender-rights issues have caused public controversies.[9][10] In 2019 Persson's tweets were censured by Microsoft, who subsequently removed mentions of his name from Minecraft (excluding one instance in the game's end credits) and did not invite him to the game's tenth anniversary celebration.[11][12] In 2015 he co-founded a separate game studio called Rubberbrain,[13][14][15] which was relaunched in 2024 as Bitshift Entertainment.[16]

  1. ^ "The Wizard of Minecraft". rollingstone.com. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Inside the post-Minecraft life of billionaire gamer god Markus Persson". forbes.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ Ashdown, Jeremy (11 November 2010). "This is Minecraft". IGN. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  4. ^ Thomas, David (29 November 2011). "How the Creator of Minecraft Developed a Monster Hit". Wired. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  5. ^ Grant, Christopher (2 December 2011). "Notch steps down as lead developer on Minecraft to focus on 'new project'". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  6. ^ Persson, Markus (15 September 2014). "I'm leaving Mojang". notch.net. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Minecraft sold to Microsoft for $2.5bn". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  8. ^ Crecente, Brian (15 September 2014). "Notch on leaving Mojang: 'It's not about the money. It's about my sanity'". Polygon. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  9. ^ Steven, Asarch (11 March 2019). "'Minecraft Creator Markus "Notch" Persson Says Trans Women Aren't Women". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  10. ^ Staff, Ars (29 April 2019). "Minecraft creator Notch unwelcome at 10th anniversary due to online conduct". Ars Technica. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  11. ^ Fields, Sarah (30 April 2019). "Minecraft Creator Notch Not Invited to Anniversary Due to Controversial Tweets". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  12. ^ Persson, Markus (28 July 2014). "Gender in Minecraft". notch.net. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Notch i stor intervju: "Jag skäms inte för att jag har ändrat mig"" (in Swedish). 3 March 2015.
  14. ^ @notch (8 April 2017). "We named our new company "Rubberbrain", but don't have a logo yet, so I'm buying @HarmfulOpinions's logo" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Mac, Ryan. "Minecraft's Markus Persson Tells All On His Sale To Microsoft, His $70 Million Home And What's Next". Forbes. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Minecraft Creator Launched a New Studio, Bitshift Entertainment". 80.lv. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.