Markus Persson

Lore & Background

Markus Persson was born in Stockholm to a Finnish mother and a Swedish father. He grew up in Edsbyn until age seven, when his family moved back to Stockholm. His parents divorced when he was about seven, and he lived with his mother and sister, experiencing occasional food insecurity. He never finished high school but was reportedly a good student. In September 2014 he announced his intention to leave Mojang, and in November the company was sold to Microsoft for reportedly US$2.5 billion, making him a billionaire. Microsoft removed mentions of his name from Minecraft (excluding one instance in the end credits) and did not invite him to the game's tenth anniversary celebration.

Reader's Guide

Markus Persson's significance lies in creating Minecraft, a game that became the best-selling video game in history and transformed the sandbox genre. His early release of the game on forums and iterative development based on user feedback helped build a massive community before the official launch. The sale of Mojang to Microsoft for $2.5 billion marked one of the largest acquisitions in gaming history. Persson's career illustrates both the potential for independent game development to achieve extraordinary commercial success and the challenges of public scrutiny that can accompany such fame.

Did You Know?

• Persson produced his first game at age eight, a text-based adventure game.
• Persson controlled a 71% stake in Mojang when he offered to sell it in June 2014.