Congratulations to Minecraft, winner of our first ever YGD Hero Award!
Minecraft’s achievements in the games industry, as well as its support for millions of creative people of all ages, are truly impressive. We hope the game and its development team serve as an inspiration to all young games enthusiasts as they progress their future careers in our industry. - Harvey Elliot, Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee.
Minecraft (and Mojang) have inspired thousands of young people to get involved in games. Minecraft allows players to create unique worlds by breaking and placing blocks and has sold over 70 million copies since its creation in 2009. Its online tutorials and play throughs have millions of viewers across the world, making the creators of these videos stars in their own right. Minecraft has broken down the traditional barriers between players and makers and has inspired many thousands of people to try their hand at designing and exploring game worlds of their own, often with amazing results. For this reason, Minecraft is the very first recipient of our first ever YGD Hero Award.
Minecraft were presented with the award at the YGD Ceremony on 25 July. On receiving the award, Mojang Brand Manager stated:
We are honoured and humbled to be presented the BAFTA YGD Hero Award. Our incredible community has taken Minecraft into places we could never have imagined and now we are thankful to help inspire others to take their creative ideas and turn them into amazing games.
