Minecraft Xbox 360 sells 12 million copies, dev says it would have been happy to sell 1 million

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has now sold over 12 million copies, making it one of the Xbox 360's most successful titles in history. Microsoft announced the news today on the Xbox Wire, but didn't provide a list of other top-selling Xbox 360 games. Of course, the game sells for $20, so direct comparisons with major franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are problematic.

The 12 million sales figure (up from 10 million in December) presumably includes combined digital and physical sales of the game.

In an interview with the Xbox Wire, Minecraft developer Mojang's business head Daniel Kaplan said when the studio originally thought about bringing the game to Xbox 360, they would have been happy selling only 1 million copies. "We never even dreamed of selling 12 million!" he said.

Kaplan said one of the most repeated requests he hears from Xbox 360 owners is for bigger Minecraft worlds. He explained that bigger worlds require a guarantee that each Xbox 360 has a hard drive, and of course that is not possible. However, he teased, "Luckily on Xbox One, that's not an issue."

As for when the Xbox One version of Minecraft will be released, Kaplan said, "It is coming, eventually!" Microsoft teased last week that Minecraft for Xbox One is "really close." The game is also coming to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

Minecraft has transformed from a small indie game to a worldwide phenomenon in less than five years. The PC/Mac version has sold nearly 15 million copies, while the game is also available for iOS and Android devices, as well as the recently released Amazon Fire TV. A Minecraft movie from Warner Bros. is even in the works.