‘Minecraft’ Creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson Made Over $100 Million In 2012

Minecraft mastermind Markus “Notch” Persson made quite a bit of money from his open world video game over the course of 2012.

Thanks to a handful of lucrative licensing fees, Persson generated a staggering amount of money over the course of last year. According to Kotaku, the Minecraft creator made a little over $100 million from his inventive and addicting video game.

During a recent interview on Reddit, Notch explained that having that much money at his disposal isn’t something he’s gotten used to yet. The developer said that his parents didn’t have a lot of money when he was growing up.

He explained:

“I grew up in a relatively poor family, but once I got a decent job, I never really had to worry about money. My hobbies were playing games and programming, so there wasn’t any real drain. I could eat out when I wanted to, and go to the movies without having to save up for it. I still had to save up for trips and to be able to buy computers or consoles, but that just felt normal.”

Afterdawn explains that Persson gave his $3 million in dividends to the 29 employees at Mojang. The Minecraft creator said he also intends to donate money to information freedom groups and children’s charities.

Persson said:

“Now, all of the sudden, as a result of how modern society works, I managed to somehow earn a sh**-ton of money. I still like playing games and programming, and once I had the latest computer and consoles, there really isn’t much more to spend the money on than traveling. I might eventually get a driver’s license so I can buy a car.”

According to the stats posted at the game’s official website, over 9.1 million people have purchased a copy of the game. In the last 24 hours, nearly 20,000 decided to give Minecraft a shot.