Minecraft has resonated well for the generation who grew up playing Lego. Its irresistible simplicity and creative depth has hit a nerve among players of every demographic age. As of June 2016, the game has sold over 106 million units and attracted 40 million monthly unique players.
Mojang's globally famous sandbox video game continues its nonstop popularity among players with a new novel being written based on the game's block building universe.
The "Minecraft" novel is currently being penned by "World War Z" author Max Brooks, Mojang announced in a blog post.
Brooks gained fame when his novel became the basis of the "World War Z" film produced and starred by Brad Pitt. The movie was a box office success and a sequel is underway.
One reason the author was apparently chosen was because of his passionate love for "Minecraft."
"I'm very excited to be part of this new venture. Finally I can justify all those hours I've spent playing Minecraft," Brooks said.
The forthcoming novel is titled "Minecraft: The Island." The book will tell the story of a hero much like Robinson Crusoe, but with a crazier twist. The character would be stranded in a foreign land and must survive against nature, beasts and monsters.
Aside from the book, a movie based on the game is also in the works and is being handled by Warner Bros. The film has a 2019 release date.
"Minecraft" was first launched in 2009 by Mojang which allows players to build buildings, roads, forests and castles using virtual blocks to fend off monsters and beasts that prowl at night.
Despite its deceptively simple appearance, the game has great addictive quality and high replay value as attested by its achievements. It is currently the best-selling PC game to date and the second best-selling video game of all time behind "Tetris."
The game's enormous global appeal across all demographic groups caught the eye of Microsoft, and in September 2014 the Redmond-based company bought "Minecraft" for $2.5 billion in cash.
