A ‘Minecraft’ Animated Series is Coming to Netflix

Why Trust Techopedia
Key Takeaways

  • Netflix and Microsoft are making a Minecraft animated series.
  • The show will have an original story with the help of Sonic Prime studio WildBrain.
  • The news came as part of Minecraft's 15th anniversary.

Netflix has teamed up with Microsoft and Mojang to produce an animated Minecraft series.

The show will revolve around an “original story” and fresh characters. WildBrain, the studio behind Carmen SandiegoNinjago: Dragons Rising, and Sonic Prime, is producing.

The companies didn’t say when the Netflix Minecraft series would be released, nor did they detail casting. The teaser clip (below) includes a Creeper, so it’s safe to presume the game’s best-known enemy will make an appearance.

The show news came as Mojang wrapped up Minecraft‘s 15th anniversary events. An early version of Markus “Notch” Persson’s creative sandbox game launched in May 2009 and quickly gained interest before its full launch in November 2011. Notch handed over creative control to Jens “Jeb” Bergensten soon after that, but demand grew to the point where Microsoft bought Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion.

The incentives behind a Minecraft Netflix show are clear. Minecraft is the bestselling video game in history with over 300 million copies, and had over 140 million active players last year. It’s been available on virtually every major platform since its debut (including Raspberry Pi) and has a live-action movie due in 2025. A series could help sustain interest.

Not every project has had a warm reception. The augmented reality game Minecraft Earth was short-lived, while spinoffs like Dungeons and Legends have garnered mixed reviews. Success isn’t certain here — it will depend on how well WildBrain translates the blocky game universe to episodic TV.