Minecraft creator Notch says that he 'basically announced minecraft 2' with a Twitter poll and a commitment to making a spiritual successor

GamesSurvival & CraftingMinecraftMinecraft creator Notch says that he ‘basically announced minecraft 2’ with a Twitter poll and a commitment to making a spiritual successorWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Mojang)

Minecraft - Alex holds a telescope

Recent updatesUpdate, January 10:Looks like hechanged his mind!

Recent updates

Update, January 10:Looks like hechanged his mind!

Original Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson has stated on Twitter that his next game will be a Minecraft spiritual successor and that he “basically announced minecraft 2.” Notch had run aTwitter pollasking followers to weigh in on whether he should keep his in-development project’s current direction, or put it on the shelf to make something more like Minecraft.

Notch’s in-development project was a roguelike spin on classic first person dungeon crawlers like Wizardry, Grimrock, or Eye of the Beholder. On New Year’s Day, Notch put out a poll asking followers whether he should keep going in that direction, or switch gears. “I gots to thinking that maybe there are people who like my work but do not share my taste in retro nostalgia and would prefer for me to make a spiritual successor thing to Minecraft,” he wrote. “And I mean sure, I’d take that cash.”

“And I respect them for doing that. It’s their job. And they, from what I understand, let the studio do things their way, which seems very fair to me.”

Taking a step back from that and just calling balls and strikes here, I do not believe “basically announcing minecraft 2” on Twitter is the best move, especially once any initial buzz dies down. I don’t know the details of Notch’s deal with Microsoft, but equating a project to a Minecraft sequel while also disparaging Microsoft in what is essentially early marketing strikes me as a contractual no-no, a one way ticket to cease and desist-ville.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

And there are a ton of other Minecraft spiritual successors already out there and established to compete with: Terraria and Dragon Quest Builders are the closest examples, but depending on how strict your definition is, the entire tree punching, base building survival genre could count. The roguelike dungeon crawler honestly strikes me as a much more interesting game, and it’s a surprisingly under-explored concept in the saturated roguelike space. But also: What’s the point of taking a $2.5 billion buyout if you’re just going to shelve your questionably profitable passion project for what the crowd says it wants?

More about survival craftingSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listLatestSpeedrunning Crazy Taxi with a live band is an inventive way to dodge a DMCA takedownSee more latest►

More about survival crafting

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

Herobrine standing in front of a foggy forest

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

New warm and cold pigs

After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

LatestSpeedrunning Crazy Taxi with a live band is an inventive way to dodge a DMCA takedownSee more latest►

Latest

Speedrunning Crazy Taxi with a live band is an inventive way to dodge a DMCA takedown

Crazy Taxi being speedrun with a live backing band

Speedrunning Crazy Taxi with a live band is an inventive way to dodge a DMCA takedown

See more latest►

Most Popular

Here’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals