Smash hit video game Minecraft is celebrating fifteen years, and while visiting Australia to celebrate the milestone achievement - co-creator and Mojang's chief creative officer Jens Bergensten sat down with ACM to talk all things blocks.
Jens Bergensten, or Jeb, as he's better known amongst the Minecraft community, started working on Minecraft in 2010 and became its lead designer in 2011.
Even after almost fifteen years though, he said there was still plenty of work to do and inspiration wasn't running dry.
"It's just been growing and growing. Players never quite quit playing Minecraft, they just take a break from time to time ... We are not running out of ideas. It's more that we don't have time to do all the ideas we want," he said.
"I love games and game design, you always have these hobby projects on the side but not at the scale of Minecraft. I love Minecraft, and I have a great team so I'm not planning to do anything else."
Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time, breaking past 300 million copies sold in 2023. Jeb explained that the creative elements and ability to share with others fostered immense popularity - particularly amongst streamers.
"It's about having a fun game but also sharing it with others. Having that kind of environment enabled Minecraft to become so popular," he said.
It's not all sunshine and music blocks for the games industry though, and in recent years, the dominant discussion has been around addressing the 'crunch crisis' - but Mojang has been working on ensuring employees can get enough rest and leisure time.
The famed game developer said that while it led to occasional delays and reduced the scope of some updates, they were committed to ensuring people went home on time.
"In the early days, we were working on it like a game jam. It didn't feel like work, so maybe you did spend more hours than supposed to working on it but I'd say today, we put a high importance on work-life balance," he said.
Asking what the future could hold for Mojang and gaming as a whole, Jeb was confident that it was in good hands.
"I can't go into details but we're continuing to update Minecraft with new technologies and tools ... yesterday, we were at a school with STEM students and university students in game design and others," he said.
"Make new things and over time, it could be something great."
Cai Holroyd
Journalist for the Area News in Griffith. RMIT graduate. Full-time writer and part-time nuisance. Been described as 'present.'
Journalist for the Area News in Griffith. RMIT graduate. Full-time writer and part-time nuisance. Been described as 'present.'
