Who is the original creator of Minecraft?

Markus Persson was the original creator of Minecraft.

Persson, known online as “Notch,” began developing Minecraft in 2009 as a personal project. He drew inspiration from games such as Infiniminer, Dwarf Fortress, and Dungeon Keeper, but combined those influences into a distinct sandbox built around mining, crafting, exploration, and construction. The first public version appeared in May 2009.

Persson initially developed Minecraft independently before co-founding Mojang, the Swedish studio that helped turn the project into a global phenomenon. The game’s early development was unusually community-driven: players bought early versions, provided feedback, and watched the game evolve through public updates.

Jens Bergensten is a common mix-up because he later became Minecraft’s lead developer and played a major role in its continued development. He did not originate the game. Toby Fox created Undertale, while Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonymous creator associated with Bitcoin. Microsoft acquired Mojang and Minecraft in 2014, after which Persson left the company.