Minecraft Passes 5 Million on XBLA

Though the real phenomenon for Minecraft is still taking place over on the PC, the Xbox 360 version of the game — available on the Xbox Live Arcade — is charting its own benchmarks as well. Just announced by developer 4J Studios today is the news that, as of New Year's Eve, Minecraft has passed 5 million units in sales.

For 4J Studios, Mojang, and the Minecraft property this is only icing on an already luscious cake as the game has already broken several records already. After only being available on the marketplace for less than a month, Minecraft broke the record for biggest selling XBLA title, surpassing the ultra popular Castle Crashers.

4J Studios, the folks responsible for porting the game to the consoles, broke the news on their Twitter, check out their message below:

On New Year's Eve 2012, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition passed 5 million sales! #MinecraftXBLA

– 4J Studios (@4JStudios) January 3, 2013

 

To achieve such an important distinction, Minecraft needed to sell more than 2.5 million copies — a number that it obviously has now crushed. In reality, Minecraft is not just becoming important competition for the likes of Trials Evolution, Limbo, or Bastion (a few of the popular XBLA titles from the past years) it's willing to go toe-to-toe with games like Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 13 for the most played game on Xbox Live.

What else is there to say about Minecraft — it's already become a worldwide phenomenon and it's showing no signs of letting up any time soon. And for gamers playing the Xbox Live version there is the promise of many of the game-changing (or world-changing) updates that have already hit the PC.

Yes, some of that honeymoon glow has receded from the game, and many see it as something for kids, but we'll never forget that at one point — before the game was even available for purchase — Minecraft was all the rage and was part of its own convention. And it will be the best selling XBLA game for a long time to come.

Did you help contribute to Minecraft crossing 5 million units on XBLA? Do you still play Minecraft on either the PC or Xbox 360?

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Source: 4J Studios - Twitter