Here're some things you should know about Minecraft

You don’t have to play it alone

Thanks to dedicated servers, millions of Minecrafters prefer to play the game online, where they can join up with their buddies to create vast, epic worlds or simply engage in extreme PvP matchups. The servers, like the options listed here, vary in RAM and CPU, so the amount of people able to play on a particular server can vary. Many servers are currently online and regularly have interesting and fun scenarios, but if you’d prefer to have one with only people you know, then you certainly have the possibility.

There is a yearly conference

Called Minecon, this is an annual gathering of all the biggest Minecraft fans in the world. The last one took place in Southern California and had many amazing Minecraft-related activities for the lucky attendees. There were YouTubers discussing the game with each other, the chance to meet the developers from Mojang, live tournaments and even costume competitions. Previous Minecons have taken place in Disneyland Paris and London. There is no word yet on a location for 2017 Minecon.

A movie is being made

Although the Minecraft movie has been stuck in development hell for many years, we’re told that it will see the light of day in 2019. Directed by Rob McElhenney and starring Steve Carell, the movie is said to be a live-action feature in the Minecraft universe, although details of the story haven’t been divulged.

You can play it everywhere…

It’s rare that a game can be played on literally every major platform, but that’s the case with Minecraft. It’s accessible on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC, Mac, as well as both Android and iOS phones. However, it’s not just at home where you can get stuck into the game, as many schools and summer camps allow students to play Minecraft – that doesn’t sound so bad! You can even read more about the game in the Minecraft Annual 2016.

It was sold it to Microsoft for a hefty sum

Markus Persson (otherwise known as Notch) was a founder and the lead designer of Minecraft but supposedly became fed up with everything that goes into running a video game company. Finding that he wasn’t enjoying it anymore, Persson sent out a tweet in June 2014 to ask if anyone wanted to purchase the company. Only three months later, Minecraft was sold to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.

It is being used to help create movies

Ben Wheatley, director of the recently released action thriller Free Fire, stated that Minecraft helped him plan out many complicated set pieces. “We could share that amongst all the people [who were] working on it, and all walk around inside it together,” said Wheatley. “That was really useful.”