"Minecraft" has built a big reputation on YouTube, which announced Wednesday that content featuring the virtual brick-building video game has been watched more than any other interactive title in the 10 years since YouTube launched. "There are over 42 million 'Minecraft' videos on YouTube today," said Ryan Wyatt, YouTube's global head of gaming content. "It's crazy because 'Minecraft' is also the second most searched term on YouTube. It's a testament to (publisher) Mojang understanding the marketing capacity and power of our content creators."
The blocky indie game was originally released by Swedish studio Mojang and creator Markus "Notch" Persson more than five years ago and has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon spawning books, toys and other merchandise. The franchise's popularity prompted Microsoft to buy "Minecraft" for $2.5 billion in 2014. "Minecraft" videos on YouTube range from crafters showing off their digital creations to virtual explorers traversing the game's procedurally generated landscape.
In honor of the streaming video site's 10th anniversary, YouTube released a list of the top 10 most popular games that have been streamed since the site debuted in 2005. Rockstar Games' gangster series "Grand Theft Auto" was in second place, followed by Riot Games' multiplayer arena title "League of Legends" in third and Activision's "Call of Duty" military shooter franchise in fourth. Electronic Arts' soccer simulator "FIFA" rounded out the top five most streamed games.
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