Persson began programming at the age of seven
As of December 29, 2010, Minecraft had over 2,750,000 registered users, and over 900,000 purchases.[20] In September 2010, after an impromptu "free to play" weekend, the game had a spike in sales of over 25,000 purchases in 24 hours.[21][22] The game has been praised for the creative freedom it grants its players in-game, and for how dynamic its overall gameplay is.[23][24][25] PC Gamer listed Minecraft as the fourth-best game to play at work.[26] A review of the alpha version, by Scott Munro of the Daily Record, called it "already something special" and urged readers to buy it.[27] Jim Rossignol of Rock, Paper, Shotgun also recommended the alpha of the game, calling it "a kind of generative 8-bit Lego Stalker".[28] On September 17, 2010, gaming webcomic Penny Arcade began a series of comics and news posts about the addictiveness of the game.[29] Video game talk show Good Game gave it a 7.5 and 9 out of 10, praising its creativity and customization, though they criticized its lack of a tutorial.[30] In December 2010, Good Game selected Minecraft as their choice for "Best Downloadable Game of 2010" title,[31] Gamasutra named it the eighth best game of the year as well as the eighth best indie game of the year,[32][33] and Rock, Paper, Shotgun named it the game of the year.[34]
Indie DB awarded the game the 2010 "Indie of the Year" award as chosen by voters, in addition to two out of five Editor's Choice awards for "Most Innovative" and "Best Singleplayer Indie".[35] Later, in December 2010, it was awarded "Game of the Year" by PC Gamer UK[36]