Minecraft removes references to original creator Markus 'Notch' Persson

Minecraft has been updated to remove most of its references to original creator Markus "Notch" Persson from the game's main menu, via Eurogamer.

Minecraft's main menu has long been hosting a series of rotating Splash text phrases in the top right corner of the logo, which include hundreds of different jokes, slogans, and references. But the most recent update of the game has done away with three Splash phrases: "Made by Notch!", "The Work of Notch!" And "110813!" (The date of Persson's wedding).

Image: Minecraft Wiki

A tweet of 4J Studios, which is developing some of the console ports Minecraft, has previously confirmed that changes were made to the startup texts, without specifying the changes that would be made:

As Polygon note, this is the second largest group of phrases ever removed from the game – only nine other splash text phrases have been removed. Minecraft during its history almost ten years.

Persson has sold the entirety of Minecraft (with his studio, Mojang) to Microsoft in 2014 for $ 2.5 billion, although Persson did not join Microsoft as part of the purchase. In the meantime, Microsoft has continued to grow Minecraft like a family brand, complete with a Minecraft: Education Edition for schools and the interactive Minecraft: Fashion History game (which has even made its way to Netflix as a quasi-kids show).

Persson, meanwhile, has become an increasingly polarizing character, tweeting offending statements about race, LGBTQ community, gender and other topics. Given the controversy surrounding Persson and the fact that it has no real implication in the news of the title, it is easy to think that Microsoft would seek to stand out from Persson, especially given the young audience Minecraft has and the cultural impact of the game. Persson is still listed in Minecraft in the credits of the game, although it is much less well placed than the references to the main menu that have been removed.

Microsoft declined to comment when asked what the latest changes were to Minecraft.