Minecraft has hit a major milestone.
Since the first video about it was uploaded in 2009, content about the sandbox game has collectively generated more than one trillion views on YouTube.
If you were around in YouTube’s early days, you know that Minecraft hit fast and hard. For those not familiar, Minecraft lets players build virtually anything their hearts desire, from simple small buildings for storing their stuff to massive, intricate environments—all in the game’s distinctive blocky style.
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Over the years, content creators have taken to YouTube to chronicle millions upon millions of hours of Minecraft adventures. They’ve shown off their solo world builds, adventured with friends, and occasionally sizzled their last in an unexpected pool of lava. And though sometimes the sheer fervor surrounding other games like Fortnite, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Among Us seemed to take over YouTube, Minecraft has remained its No. 1 most popular game.
To mark Minecraft’s trillionth view, YouTube is kicking off a lengthy campaign that begins with an animated video paying tribute to some of the content creators whose videos have helped keep it at top spot.
Nods went to Aphmau, BriannaPlayz, CaptainSparklez, Chandler Hallow, Chris Tyson, DanTDM, Dream (creator of Dream SMP and 2021 Streamys winner for gaming creator of the year), Element Animation, Felipe Neto, Fuze III, GeorgeNotFound, GermanLetsPlay, Grian, JeromeASF, Julia MineGirl, Karl Jacobs, LazarBeam, Logdotzip, Maizen, Mikecrack, MrBeast, Mumbo Jumbo, Noxcrew, PewDiePie, Plech, PrestonPlayz, 잠뜰, Spark Universe, stampylonghead, Techno Gamerz, Teweran, Tex HS, TryHardNinja, and VEGETTA777.
“Being in the gaming industry my entire career, it’s incredible to see how Minecraft has exploded since it first came on to the scene,” Ryan Wyatt, YouTube’s global head of gaming, said in a statement. “I remember working with SeaNanners at Machinima when he first tried Minecraft and shared it on YouTube—the appetite for Minecraft content then was impressive and the fact that it just continues to grow year over year is staggering.”
Wyatt added, “Minecraft has been the most watched game for many years and to see it reach one trillion views is an applause-worthy feat.”
YouTube’s celebration campaign: a homepage takeover, in-game skins, Shorts sweepstakes
As for the other ways YouTube is marking Minecraft’s milestone…For today, an animated Minecraft logo will replace the usual YouTube logo, and the platform’s own channel will feature curated playlists of Minecraft content.
Meanwhile, over on YouTube’s official Instagram account, MsMunchie, ZHC, CaptainSparklez, iHasCupquake, Bajan Canadian, Frost Diamond, Fuze III, and TommyInnit will take over for the “#MinecraftMuseum” event, recollecting the creators’ favorite Minecraft memories.
YouTube has also launched a dedicated Minecraft landing page on its Culture & Trends hub, which features “a data visualization of major trends, creators and videos alongside a series of editorials exploring the global impact of creators playing Minecraft on YouTube,” it says. (On that note, YouTube revealed there are more than 35,000 creators from 150+ countries and territories actively making Minecraft content on the platform.)
Minecraft players will get a little something to celebrate, too: YouTube has partnered with the game itself to release the YouTube Creator Skin Pack—a set of free in-game skins paying tribute to popular Minecraft-focused creators. You can see more about the skins and their in-game utilities here.
Last up, YouTube is running a sweepstakes where 135 YouTube Shorts users in the U.S. who share a video about their “favorite Minecraft moment” on Twitter will win “a special one trillion views celebratory item to give to hundreds of Minecraft creators globally.” Details about that are here.
