


However, attendees and fans of Minecraft weren’t sold on this approach. The team at Mojang wanted to make what was then called MineCon Earth “the biggest and coolest show,” bringing in A-list celebrities like Will Arnett to host and amp up the spectacle of the event. That first digital year was a learning curve, according to Winters. We want the community to feel like they get to know us and hear what we’re talking about and understand the why – it’s not just ‘here’s the news’…we want you to hear from our development team.” Preserving the Spirit Through Digital “That’s the thing that’s gone through from MineCon, to all the things we named it, to Minecraft Live. “We decided to turn into this live show where everyone could watch and feel the community was all there together hearing directly from us,” recalls Winters. However, by 2016, MineCon had grown so large it lost some of its intimacy from earlier years, and to keep that feeling, Mojang decided to make a change, and Minecraft Live was born. The latter enabled the Minecraft community to connect and inspire one another by competing in in-game building competitions, among other things.
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The former allowed fans to interact with and ask questions of the people making their favorite game, as well as hear upcoming content announcements such as the Redstone 1.5 update or the Minecraft: The Island novels. Those early conventions held two main attractions for the community: panels with game developers and the chance to share Minecraft creations with fellow players. The final MineCon took place in Anaheim in 2016, bringing together 15,000 attendees. MineCon organizers, always thinking about Minecraft’s community first, chose to alternate between North American and European locations in order to make the event accessible to fans unable to travel overseas. Considered a success, the first official MineCon took place the following year in Las Vegas, amassing over 5,000 attendees. That first gathering saw roughly 30 dedicated fans come together to share their love for the game. By 2010, the game had enough fans to warrant an in-person meetup with Markus “Notch” Persson, Minecraft’s sole creator, in Bellevue, Washington. When Minecraft first released in 2009, it was called Cave Game, and it stood out in the gaming community for making players harvest resources before building.

Mojang Studios’ Chief Storyteller Lydia Winters ,spoke with us about Minecraft’s meteoric rise over the past decade, and how its community is directly responsible for that thanks, in large part, to Minecraft Live. What started as a game created by one man became a world for millions to share with one another. Players were attracted to the endless creative and customizable options, spawning shareable servers, YouTube videos, and, eventually, live events. Mojang Studios’ indie game quickly became one of the top games in the world, currently boasting over 140 million users worldwide. Amidst an explosion of sandbox style games, Minecraft has both set the bar and pushed the boundaries of creativity, thanks in large part to its gargantuan community of players that doesn’t stop growing.
