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Seven Stories Press

Works of Radical Imagination

Minecraft, Second Edition

The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game That Changed Everything

by Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson

Book cover for Minecraft, Second Edition
Book cover for Minecraft, Second EditionBook cover for Minecraft, Second Edition

The incredible tale of a little game that shook the international gaming world—now with new material including a behind-the-scenes look at the sale to Microsoft.

For this second edition, this unlikely and bittersweet success story has been enriched with more Minecraft than eve: A new section describes Minecraft's sale to Microsoft, Notch's less than heartwarming last day in the office, and Mojang's final days of independence.

His whole life, all Markus Persson wanted to do was create his own games. Create his own games and get rich. Then in 2009 a strange little project of his quickly grew into a worldwide phenomenon and, in just a few short years, turned its maker into an international icon.

Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything is a Cinderella story for the Internet age—improbable success, fast money, and the power of digital technology to shake up a rock-solid industry. It's a story about being lost and finding your way, of breaking the rules and swimming against the current. It's about how the indie gaming scene rattled the foundations of corporate empires. But, above all, this is the story of how a creative genius chased down a crazy dream: the evolution of a shy amateur programmer into a video game god.

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Book cover for Minecraft, Second Edition
Book cover for Minecraft, Second EditionBook cover for Minecraft, Second Edition

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“You may find this book as addictive as Minecraft.”

Minecraft is a beautifully human story ... it's well worth a read and offers, at the very least, inspiration, and at the very most, hope.”

“Pulls itself along with the narrative compulsion of a tech biography ... outlines a cultural phenomenon in ways that even those who've missed out up 'til now can understand.”

Minecraft is indeed an unlikely tale. That is what makes it so great, and that is why this little book will make a terrific gift for the gamer in your life.”

Daniel Goldberg

LINUS LARSSON and DANIEL GOLDBERG are two of Sweden’s best-known writers on new technology and the internet. They have been published in the Washington Post and American Computer World, among other places, and quoted by BBC News, the New York Times, and the Sydney Morning Herald. Their first book, Swedish Hackers, was published in 2011 in Sweden. Minecraft, their bestselling English language debut, followed that same year. They are also the editors of State of Play.

Linus Larsson

LINUS LARSSON and DANIEL GOLDBERG are two of Sweden’s best-known writers on new technology and the internet. They have been published in the Washington Post and American Computer World, among other places, and quoted by BBC News, the New York Times, and the Sydney Morning Herald. Their first book, Swedish Hackers, was published in 2011 in Sweden. Minecraft, their bestselling English language debut, followed that same year. THe are also the editors of State of Play.