Why Is Minecraft So Popular Again ?
by Albert Peng
After a five-year decline in popularity , Minecraft made a comeback and shot to the top of the YouTube Gaming list . The massive influx of new interest in a decade-old game caused many news sites , gaming experts , and people , in general , to ask : what made Minecraft so popular again ?
In 2019 , YouTuber Felix Kjellberg , a . k . a . PewDiePie , started a Minecraft Let ’ s Play series for his “ Gaming Week .” Kjellberg had almost 100 million subscribers , making his the most-subscribed YouTube channel . Twenty-six million people watched as he played through the blocky world . He followed up the first video with another 35 episodes , each more popular than the last . After the series started , Minecraft ’ s popularity soared .
As a result of this , many people replayed and rediscovered the pixelated game , leading to a surge in returning players . YouTubers , both old and new , started re-recording Minecraft . Dreamwastaken became the fastest-growing YouTube channel after he began uploading “ Minecraft Manhunt ” videos . Finally , a $ 10,000 weekly “ Minecraft Monday ” tournament was hosted with over 50 YouTubers participating . Millions watched the players compete in “ Hunger Games ,” “ parkour ,” and “ Build Battle ” challenges .
YouTubers moved on to other games for more content . So , mainstream attention also shifted to other games . Minecraft was only out of the public eye , not the gaming communities .
As Keemstar , the creator of Minecraft Monday , put it , “ Generations in the past collected baseball cards , toy cars or Barbies as adults because of nostalgia . In this day and age , we will see video games of the past resurrected due to the same thing .” Like many other things before it , Minecraft has become popular again as the children who enjoyed the first versions of the game start to play again as teenagers and young adults . Minecraft is one of the most popular games globally , and it does not seem like that will change anytime soon .
13 | SLAS TIMES
Meanwhile , the blocky graphics lent a cute , addicting , and old-style feel to the game . Its promise of “ infinite wonders , infinite possibilities ” drew in many more people , and the ability to create almost anything you wanted was another big selling point .
The final reason for Minecraft ’ s new attention may be somewhat surprising – Minecraft has never lost popularity in the first place . Although public interest waned after 2016 , the blockbuster game still pulled in 91 million separate active users a month . In comparison , Fortnite , the hottest game of 2018 , only had around 70 million players . The main reason that most people don ’ t realize this is because many