Minecraft takes the United Kingdom's top spot for best-selling new IP of the decade

Some happy villagers
Some happy villagers (Image credit: Windows Central | Mojang Studios)

What you need to know

  • Minecraft is a massive open-world creative sandbox developed by Mojang and Microsoft.
  • Minecraft has seen a ton of success, and has topped sales charts many times in the past.
  • In the UK, Minecraft was the best-selling new IP of the last decade.
  • You can buy Minecraft from Microsoft starting at $20.

It's no secret that Minecraft has sold a ton of copies, reportedly breaking 176 million copies as of May 2019. According to a new report by GamesIndustry.biz, Minecraft continues this trend by being the best-selling new IP of the last decade in the United Kingdom, beating out industry titans introduced in the last ten years like Destiny, Watch Dogs, the Last of Us, and more.

Minecraft initially debuted in 2009, but wasn't officially released until 2011, and wasn't widely available in the UK until 2013. Minecraft's dominant position on these charts is reliant on seven years of sales, making it doubly impressive. GamesIndustry.biz also pitted Minecraft against new brands introduced in an existing franchise, like Red Dead Redemption (the spiritual successor of Red Dead Revolver) and Microsoft's own Forza Horizon racing sim. Despite the shakeup, Minecraft still topped the charts with ease.

When it comes to game revenue, Minecraft was beaten out by Red Dead Redemption and Destiny. It's possible this is due to Minecraft's far lower asking price, but the reason isn't listed in the original report. It looks like Minecraft sales on mobile platforms like Android and iOS also were not included. Either way, Minecraft exits the last decade strong and enters a new decade ready to maintain its dominance.

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Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.