“We don’t want any story that we make, whether it’s a movie or a book, to create some sort of ‘this is the official Minecraft, this is how you play the game’ thing,” chief operating officer Vu Bui told the Guardian in October 2014. It’s one the company is well aware of too. This is why Mojang’s moves into storytelling – through spin-off game Minecraft: Story Mode and the in-development Minecraft movie – is a fascinating risk. Meanwhile, popular YouTubers like The Diamond Minecart and Stampy have built huge online audiences by spinning their own yarns within the game.
One of the reasons millions of children love playing Minecraft is that it’s a digital set for their own stories, whether they’re playing alone or with friends. It’s just that the vast majority of them weren’t made up by the game’s developer Mojang. It’s untrue to suggest that Minecraft doesn’t have a story: it has thousands.
