Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson isn’t part of Microsoft’s plans to mark the game’s 10-year anniversary next month.
Development studioMojangwill celebrate the game’s past and reveal plans for its future during an event in Stockholm on May 17.
But a spokesperson for ownerMicrosofttoldVarietythat Persson has been excluded from its plans following a series of bigoted remarks made on Twitter, where he has millions of followers.
“His comments and opinions do not reflect those of Microsoft or Mojang and are not representative ofMinecraft,” they said.
Persson hasn’t been involved with Minecraft since selling Mojang and the game’s intellectual property rights to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014, the spokesperson added.
The co-founder has increasingly ostracised himself with his remarks on social media, including transphobic statements and calls for a “heterosexual pride day”.
Last month Microsoftremoved referencesto Persson from Minecraft’s splash screens.
Minecraft is the bestsellingPCgame of all time withover 30 million sales on the platform, according to Microsoft.
The company says the game has sold over 154 million copies across all platforms and has 91 million monthly active users.
Earlier this month, Mojang announced a July 31, 2025 release date for the live-actionMinecraft movie.
