Last year marked the 15th anniversary of Minecraft, and despite entering its teenage years, developer Mojang has firmly stated that there are no plans to replace it with a sequel. During a recent visit to the Stockholm studio, IGN posed the question about the possibility of a sequel to the best-selling game of all time. Ingela Garneij, the executive producer of Minecraft Vanilla, responded with a humorous yet definitive statement: "Do you think we're going to have an Earth 2? No, no, there's no Minecraft 2."
While a sequel like Minecraft 2.0 is clearly not on the horizon, the survival-crafting phenomenon is far from stagnant. Mojang's vision extends well into the future, with ambitions to at least double the game's current lifespan. "We've existed for 15 years," Garneij explained. "We want to exist at least 15 years more, so Agnes [Larsson, Minecraft Vanilla’s game director] and I, we work as a team. We set the vision and strategy for our game for what can we do beyond that."
This ambition is driven by Mojang's commitment to innovation, building upon the robust foundations they've established. However, Garneij acknowledged that these foundations are aging. While there are no plans for a complete engine overhaul, the development of new content, such as the recently announced Vibrant Visuals graphics update, requires considerable time and effort.
"I think the age of the game is a challenge," Garneij noted. "It's a 15-year-old platform, 15-year-old technology that slows us down in one sense. So other new games have new engines, and they can run really fast. So I would say the technology and our age [are our biggest challenges]."
Despite these challenges, Minecraft remains one of the world's most popular games, showing no signs of slowing down. Mojang has no plans to transition Minecraft to a free-to-play model or to incorporate generative AI technology. So, while you won't be playing Minecraft 2 anytime soon—not on this Earth, at least—you can look forward to continued updates and innovations.
For a glimpse into the future of Minecraft, be sure to check out everything announced at Minecraft Live 2025.
