Notch Cancels “Minecraft 2” Just Days After Announcing It

Markus "Notch" Persson, the original and controversial creator of Minecraft, has scrapped plans for a sequel to the iconic block-building game, just six days after teasing Minecraft 2. Instead, Notch announced his studio, Bitshift Entertainment, will work on a project called Levers and Chests, which he describes as a dungeon roguelike.

"Talked to the fellas at the office. Looks like we're making Levers and Chests! Tipping point was PC Gamer saying it seemed interesting, lol. Yeah, I still love PC Gamer,"

Notch shared on social media. He also remarked that spiritual successors often feel like "sad nostalgia dumps," and the roguelike genre offers more creative potential.

Notch’s brief flirtation with Minecraft 2 began with a poll asking fans to choose between a direct sequel and a roguelike game. Unsurprisingly, most fans voted for Minecraft 2. However, Notch expressed concerns about creating a spiritual successor, fearing it could lack the joy and originality of the unique game.

Since leaving Mojang Studios a decade ago, Notch has made headlines more for his controversial statements than his game development. His new studio, Bitshift Entertainment, aims to carve out a fresh path with innovative projects like Levers and Chests.

For now, fans of Notch’s work will have to wait and see if this new dungeon roguelike can capture even a fraction of the magic of Minecraft.

Author's Opinion: The following is a subjective statement

This seems like a fairly obvious decision by the development team, as the so-called Minecraft 2 announcement feels more like a way to draw attention to their new game, one that, I’m sure, few people had even heard of. It’s as if the creator teased social media users by posting a poll, only to choose the option voted for by the minority, but one that aligns more closely with his vision.

I don’t think a sequel to the legendary game was truly planned in this case. However, this doesn’t mean the upcoming roguelike game will be bad. Now, we all know about it and are curious to see what it turns out to be. That’s marketing for zero dollars.