Minecraft Now Has 112 Million Monthly Active Players, Microsoft Reveals

The popularity of video game Minecraft has been growing, with Microsoft announcing that over 112 million people play it a month. It's 20 million increase over the figures reported in October 2018.

Minecraft was acquired by tech giant Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5 billion (roughly Rs. 17,900 crores).

Given that the game is available on almost all platform, it's no surprise that number of players keeps growing, Windows Central reported on Saturday, citing an interview by Business Insider with Minecraft studio head Helen Chiang.

Often touted as virtual LEGO, the game is about fitting pieces together to create something amazing. The game is essentially a blank canvas and provides endless building blocks.

But post-launch support and the ability of users to create content, even campaigns, are considered reasons behind its success. Hopefully, the title will continue to flourish and reach even greater heights, the report said.

Last month, Microsoft said it will use chipmaker Nvidia's real-time ray tracing technology to Minecraft players more realistic graphics on personal computers. Real-time ray tracing, or the ability for the chip to simulate how light rays will bounce around in a visual scene, helps video games and other computer graphics more closely resemble shadows and reflections in the real world.

Other games which would have the same graphic technology are Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare", Ubisoft Toronto's "Watch Dogs: Legion" and Tencent NExT Studios' "Synced: Off Planet", Nvidia said last month.

Minecraft, a construction game in which players can build nearly anything imaginable, block by block, in a digital, Lego-like world, spread like wildfire since its full release in 2011 by developer Mojang, which was bought by Microsoft in 2014.

In May this year, Microsoft said 176 million versions of the game have been sold since its launch.