In just nine days, Minecraft will turn 10 years old. Its hard to imagine growing old, especially if you were still in high school when Minecraft first came out. Who would’ve thought that this blocky, exploration-based, crafting-centric time-waster would go on to become one of the cultural highlights of the past decade?
Not me, that’s for sure. I was not an avid fan of Minecraft, and only played it in between other games as something to pass the time, and I was certain that it was just a quick fad that people would forget a couple of months later. Fast forward to now, and while most of the young kids playing the game back then are young adults, it certainly didn’t stop its playerbase from growing. As of today, the game still draws in more than 90 million players every month, which is a bigger number than to the current flavor in gaming, Fortnite.
Minecraft’s developer, Mojang, is celebrating the big anniversary by releasing a free-to-play version of Minecraft which you can access through your internet browser.
You know what’s better than new content? Good ol’ nostalgia! To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Minecraft, we’re releasing MINECRAFT CLASSIC to your browser. Play the original creative mode, complete with 32 blocks and all the beloved bugs!
— Minecraft (@Minecraft) May 7, 2019
↣ https://t.co/7pGSj3omzR ↢ pic.twitter.com/gTZcls7tBe
This release is based on the original creative mode, which came out all those years ago featuring a really ugly interface and incredibly simplistic gameplay. I kind of actually prefer this compared to what Minecraft is now, due to how simple it is to pick up. Plus, the only thing I ever do is build stuff, not actually try to survive creepers or what have you.
Mojang has also elaborated on this release through their official site. The build only has 32 blocks to create with, and comes with the original bugs, which make it an interesting - albeit outdated - experience. Plus, the real joy comes from discovering just how day-and-night the difference is between Minecraft as it is now, and Minecraft back in 2009.
If you’re interested, check it out here. It works on most browsers, and there’s no real complicated stuff that you have to do to get it up and running. Best of all, you can send invites to up to 10 friends, and you’ll be able to play together in simpler and more innocent times.
