Minecraft in popular culture

Many references have been made in culture in response to the popularity of Minecraft, from cameos, parodies, to subtle allusions.

In the 2011 action adventure game Magicka, endermen appear as one of the enemies, possessing teleportation powers and attacks that can kill the player in one hit.^[1][2]

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  Fighting an enderman in Magicka

In the 2010 Transformice online platform game, several items reference Minecraft, including a creeper mask,^[3] diamond pickaxe,^[4] and moobloom fur.^[5]

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  The moobloom-themed fur item from Transformice
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In PixelJunk Shooter 2, a creeper appears in the background of the title screen.

Within The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, an item exists, known as the Notched Pickaxe, named after Notch.^[6][7]

A hat called Top Notch exists which resembles Notch's avatar, complete with a cubic form. The face on the hat has a cardboard texture.^[8] Notch is the only person to have this hat, with the description referencing this by discussing a "secret society so exclusive it makes the Illuminati look like a Costco."^[9] If the hat is worn by Demoman, his eyepatch is added to the hat, albeit in an equally crude form.

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  Render of the Top Notch
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  Demoman's own Top Notch

There is a chance for a message in the news to appear with the headline "Top notch mine opens in Sweden", and the caption "Miners and crafters look forward to the opening of a new, top notch diamond mine which is expected to revitalize the Swedish economy". Other messages include "Creeper arrested for destruction of virtual property" and "Microsoft saves sheepish miner, rides into sunset."

In the Wrath of the Lamb DLC, an item exists known as the Notched Axe, which is stylized like a miniature pickaxe.^[10] In the Afterbirth DLC, an item based off TNT called the Mine Crafter exists.^[11]

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  Inventory sprite of the Notched Axe
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In McPixel, a creeper can be seen and interacted with in a level.^[verify]

Steve's head is an unlockable helmet.​^{[more information needed]}

The player can buy a diamond pickaxe which, according to the game, is made by "Kick it up a Notch Pickaxes", referring to Notch.​^{[more information needed]}

Several Minecraft references are made throughout the game. There is dialogue in the Crystal Cave that alludes to Minecraft, while a snowman in Whitefall Town is in the form of a creeper. In the expansion and the Steam version, the Diamond Golem is introduced, which upon seeing the character Matt remarks he would like to use to make a diamond sword.^[12][13]

Steve is an unlockable character with a projectile that looks like a stone pickaxe.​^{[more information needed]}

The name of achievement "Never dig down" is a reference of a well-known Minecraft tip.^[14]

Beating level 16 (Hexagon Force) on normal mode rewards the player with a creeper face cube. This can also be colored to make it look like a normal one.

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  The achievement
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  The cube colored similarly to the original creeper

Steve is a uniform named "Craft Miner".​^{[more information needed]}

In the 2014 installment Octodad: Dadliest Catch, the supermarket level has a "Mintcraft" display. This is an obvious parody of Minecraft, even including toy pickaxes and a creeper head.

Available for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace is a hat labeled Dave's Hat, evoking how player skins look in Minecraft.^{[citation needed]}

An available picture to color in appears to be a Minecraft-like scene with blocks including Flowering Azalea Leaves, Oak Logs, and Grass Blocks.

The name of achievement "Three Diamonds + Two Sticks" is a reference to the crafting recipe of a diamond pickaxe. The card "Digging Straight Down" and its flavor text "You only make this mistake once." are also references to a well-known Minecraft tip.

Within the map Goat City Bay, the player can find three separate blocks based off those in Minecraft. The "grass and dirt block" resembles a grass block, and is found behind the skate ramp. The stone block looks like cobblestone, and is found inside the cemetery. The wood block is a plank block, and is hidden behind a tree.

Collecting all three blocks will earn the achievement Builder Goat, and unlock a mutator based off Minecraft mobs, predating the actual goat mob.

Creepers appear as a unit "skin" for the suicide bomber unit the boomer. Creepers can be either green, blue, or red, depending on the color of the team that makes them.^{[citation needed]}

There is a hidden easter egg room that contains various well-known blocks from games, including the grass block from Minecraft.^[15]

"Dreaded Creepers" can be found as a mob in The Mine, present era. If the player gets killed by a Dreaded Creeper, they unlock the sssSSSSSss BOOM! achievement.^[16][17]

Several references are made to Minecraft, including a character being a fan of the game.^[18]​^{[more information needed]}

A stone pickaxe can be used as a melee weapon with the name of "The Notch Carver".

There is a RPG Dimension called Legend of the Secret, with a free to play variant, Legend of the Secret: Ultimate Clicker V.I.P. Edition Deluxe 4.2 Free featuring lootboxes that contain parody ads. One of those ads is Ninecraft, a spoof featuring C418-like background music. The player can break the title, get nine puzzle pieces, and combine them in a 3×3 grid to make a pickaxe useful in gameplay. The character Game also comments on Ninecraft as "another one of those 'indie games' that's doomed to fail".

In The Henry Stickmin Collection, there are multiple references to Minecraft throughout the chapters:

• In the prologue, Breaking the Bank, if the player chooses the "shovel" option, Henry tries to get inside the bank by digging under the walls, but hits and ignites a gas main; the failure message is "Never dig straight down.", a well-known Minecraft tip.
• In chapter 2, Stealing the Diamond, if the player selects the "sneak in" option and then the "pickaxe", Henry begins to mine the wall of the museum the diamond is in, only for a creeper to come up behind him and explode. Henry survives, however, and the explosion gave the entrance that Henry needed.
• In chapter 5, Completing the Mission, there are multiple references to Minecraft throughout the routes.
• If the player launches with the "Government Supported Private Investigator" and "Convict Allies" ending, and then selects the "jetpack" option, the player can select the "build" option, in which Henry begins building a bridge out of dirt blocks from the building he is standing on to the Toppat rocket. However, Henry runs out of dirt blocks and accidentally walks off the edge, and falls to his death, dropping a stick, steak and leather boots, with the fail message saying "You died!", similar to the Minecraft death screen.
• If the player launches with the "Pure Blooded Thief" and "Presumed Dead" ending, and then selects the "Stop" option, then does nothing, then selects the "Spiked Wheels" and "Hammer (Left)" options, Henry attempting to "mine" glass in a similar manner to Minecraft, but he is shot down. Additionally, if player selects "Hammer (Right)" then does nothing, Henry's rocket runs out of fuel and falls back to the ground, with the fail message saying "Return to Sender", may related with the Minecraft achievement.
• If the player launches with the "Government Supported Private Investigator" and "Ghost Inmate" ending, and then selects the "Magic Hat" and "Free Transform" options, the player can select the "Leafmöde" option, and a diamond block can be seen near the painting and a diamond helmet can be seen somewhere.

An NPC named Hacker mentions "Minecrap" and "Bubsidian", referencing Minecraft and obsidian.^[19] The former is also a reference to the controversial video created by content creator Mike Matei, where Inspector Gadget remarks that he "likes building brown bricks with Minecrap".^[20]

The blacksmith in Mondstadt, named Wagner, gives the player a quest called "Mine Craft".^[21][22]​^{[more information needed]}

After buying the figurine shelf, there is a model of a diamond pickaxe stuck to a grass block.^{[citation needed]}

A vehicle card is labeled "Mine Craft", and has the description "The Mine Craft is truly top-notch." Furthermore, Notch's Twitter icon at the time is visible on the card.^[23]

The protagonist, Saturday, compares the way The Duskbreaker works with "the Far Place" in "Mineblast", referencing the Far Lands.

Steve's head is a wearable hat.^{[citation needed]}

Steve is an outfit named "Pitman", wielding an iron pickaxe and able to break barriers.^{[citation needed]}

"Mr. Pixel" has a face similar to Steve's.^{[citation needed]}

Steve appears to be an unlockable character.^{[citation needed]}

Steve's head is a wearable hat along with a "pickaxe" weapon that can place blocks such as cobblestone, TNT, and a piston.^{[citation needed]}

The White Pumpkin from Minecraft: Story Mode makes an appearance as an unlockable killer skin for Slasher. Romeo from Minecraft: Story Mode - Season Two also makes an appearance as an unlockable killer skin for Noli. There are also two purchasable survivor skins for Shedletsky and Dusekkar, the first one makes Shedletsky look like a Minecraft player with Steve's head and for Dusekkar making him wear a blue carved pumpkin and themed accessories. Herobrine also appears as a VIP exclusive killer for private servers. The map Brandon6875935's Place also contains the old texture of the diamond pickaxe in the Brandon World location of the map.

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In the game on Level 7, a kid is building blocks with a virtual reality headset, before being interrupted by a zombie and a skeleton, which turn out to be the parents of the kid if the headset was taken off.^{[citation needed]}

In World 22: Mount Volver of Guardian Tales, a new puzzle mechanic was introduced where the player can use water to solidify lava. In the second stage of this world, there is a side quest that begins when the player completes a portal frame made of solidified lava. When the puzzle is solved, the frame activates and a purple portal appears. From it, an NPC resembling Steve named Sting and a chicken emerge.

Sting wonders where they are, and the player can respond in several ways such as welcoming them, asking for emerald armor in exchange, or questioning if they came from lava and whether they are resistant to fire types. After observing the hot environment, Sting declares their travel a success. He explains that they have been traveling across the world to create the best lava chicken, repeatedly entering the wrong portals until now. After inspecting the lava, he deems its properties perfect.

Sting then destroys an indestructible rock using a golden pickaxe, places the chicken in a building with a furnace, and a parody of the "Steve's Lava Chicken" song plays. The player can help by opening passages and clearing obstacles for the lava flow. Once the lava reaches the chicken, Sting sings, and after it is cooked, both Sting and the player character eat it.

Finally, Sting expresses satisfaction and prepares to go home. However, when he checks his map, he is shocked to find that he is 12,345 / -2399 / 999 XYZ coordinates away from the village he built where his 48 cats live, and he laments that all his looting was pointless. A star piece then drops from him.

Later, in the final stage after the Eternal Flame was defeated, Sting appears in the human village of the volcanic region, saying it is a great village to rob, quickly correcting himself and saying he means to build a house there.

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  Sting and his chicken meets the Knight (in-story) — player is using Lahn
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  The Knight's first dialogue options
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  Sting is asking the Knight.
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  Sting is mentioning his goal.
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  The Knight's second set of dialogue options
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  Sting is singing a parody of "Steve's Lava Chicken".
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  Sting is looking at his map.
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  Sting's home coordinates
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  Sting's lament
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  Sting appears in the human village of Mount Volver
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  Chicken NPC side idle
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  Sting NPC side idle
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  Sting's lava chicken

Level 21 prompts the user to craft a diamond pickaxe, providing them with a crafting table grid, 2 oak logs, and 3 diamonds.

There is an upcoming skin for the killer Pursuer that turns him into a Minecraft version of himself. A wood and stone block with the previous texture can be found in the Garden and Theater locations of the Lobby, respectively.

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There is a hidden island inhabited by Steve and some chickens in the mission called "Operation Charlie Takedown". Saving Steve aka "Blockhead" is one of the steps needed to unlock an in-game achievement called "No Stone Unturned", which requires finding all secrets.^[24][25][26]

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In Caustic Caverns, creepers can be found in a hidden cave, along with several breakable blocks, including dirt, stone, and coal ore. When killed, they can drop weapons themed after Minecraft. Steve's head is a wearable item in the game.^[27][28]

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An area can be found named Notch's Cavern, featuring enemy creepers and swords which use the same sprite as Minecraft at the time.^[29][30]

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Among the endings is one which features a Minecraft setting.^[31][32]

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The description for the Jeff the Land Shark skin 8-Bit Bash originally had Deadpool remark that he was "starting to look like a Minecraft mod". Following the skin's official release, however, the description was altered to remove the reference.^[33]

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In Stick RPG 2, a Creeper can be found within a window on the dirt of the Fourth Island.

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  A creeper Easter egg that can be found in a game called Stick RPG 2

As part of the revival Caillou's New Adventures, an episode entitled "Caillou's Video Game Adventure" was produced. The plot centered around Caillou playing a video game called "Dig and Build", a parody of Minecraft.

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A subtle Minecraft reference appears in the Dandadan Manga, later adapted in the show on Season 2, Episode 9, where a blocky Steve-like character called Ludris (ルドリス Rudorisu) that only says "Craft", offers the main cast a shapeshifting nanotechnology with the initial appearance of cobblestone called Nanoskin (ナノスキン Nanosukin).^[34] These blocks are used to rebuild the house.

The 34th episode, Final Deployment 4: Queen Battle Walkthrough, revolves around a streamer playing a video game, continuing into a post-game that gets gradually more bizarre and closer to real life.^[35] This culminates in a series of let's plays within let's plays, with the fourth level of the inception being a Minecraft parody called Moonshaft. Inside this game, the protagonist, Moonwalker, is stationed on a Moon, and has to collect various blue rocks resembling ores, staying clear of "moon monsters". Eventually, this character crafts a computer, and begins playing a game themself, Captain Lion: Lion's Roar. Later, it is revealed that Moonwalker, as well as all the other players/player characters are feeling a deep existential emptiness.

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In the 2010 animated series Mad, Minecraft is parodied on two separate occasions. The first is the 32nd episode "ThunderLOLcats", which parodied the 2011 ThunderCats by referencing many memes of the early 2010s era. In one scene, creepers make an appearance with a smiling appearance, similar to the smiling creeper.^[36] In the 34th episode, entitled "Criminal Minecraft", a crossover parody with the series Criminal Minds is shown, depicting a conflict wherein Mark Zuckerberg tries to destroy Minecraft.^[37]

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In Girl in the Flower Dress, the fifth episode of the first season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jemma Simmons mentions to Grant Ward and Leopold Fitz that the hacker Miles Lydon, Skye's ex-boyfriend, apparently "plays a lot of Minecraft where he runs a really nasty mob". When Fitz wonders if it's a zombie, Simmons explains it's "zombie pigmen".^[38] Later in Spider-Man: No Way Home, a model of a Spider-Man Minecraft skin made of fusible plastic beads can be seen in the background in the movie.^[verify]

In Oshi no Ko Season 3, Episode 1 Down Bad, a scene briefly shows Minecraft-style terrain and builds on a screen, referencing the game's visual style.

The opening scene in the Oasis shows a Minecraft planet.^[39]​^{[more information needed]}

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In The Rickchurian Mortydate, the title characters mention or are seen playing Minecraft throughout parts of the episode.​^{[more information needed]}

The first season finale, Craftopia, is set within a parody of Minecraft called Craftopia.​^{[more information needed]}

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In the episode "Be Patient With Your Little Brother", Roys Bedoys teaches his brother Loys how to craft brown concrete.^{[citation needed]}

In Season 4, one of Lip's roommates is a Minecraft player.​^{[more information needed]}

In season 25 episode 17, Luca$, the couch gag of the episode is a Minecraft parody entitled "SimCraft", complete with Moe as a creeper blowing up the house.^[40]

In season 17, the episode Informative Murder Porn depicts a kid teaching Minecraft to adults.^[41] Later, in the season 20 episode Skank Hunt, a poster of Minecraft Story Mode can be seen on Ike's wall.

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Following the release of A Minecraft Movie, a skit was made referencing the Chicken Jockey sensation.^[42]

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Season 1, Episode 4, features a parody game titled "Meowcraft", complete with a somewhat dirt cave and a zombie, referencing Minecraft's gameplay and visual style.

In the The Walking Deceased movie trailer, the Minecraft zombie sound can be heard at 0:30.^[43]

The protagonist August "Auggie" Pullman is a Minecraft player. There is a scene involving Jack Will apologizing to him via Minecraft.​^{[more information needed]}

In 2025, ARCHIE & FRIENDS: LEVEL UP! released. A one-shot issue of the popular Archie comic book series, centered around various stories of Archie and his friends playing video games.^[44] One story, entitled Servers You Right!, revolves around the gang playing "Crafty Miners", a parody of Minecraft.^[45] Conflict arises when the character Reggie Mantle joins the server, instantly breaking it into chaos. The story was written by Ian Flynn, who coincidentally previously wrote a story in Minecraft: Stories from the Overworld.

This issue was intended to coincide with the release of A Minecraft Movie.^[46]

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  Cover of ARCHIE & FRIENDS: LEVEL UP!
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  A page of ARCHIE & FRIENDS: LEVEL UP!
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  Another page of ARCHIE & FRIENDS: LEVEL UP!

Released on September 1, 2016, A Boy Made of Blocks is a novel about a father bonding with his autistic child, particularly by playing Minecraft, the namesake of the book.​^{[more information needed]}

In Call of the Night Manga (Chapter 24), one of the characters, Nazuna, is shown playing Minecraft on a TV using a controller, excitedly saying, "I found a diamond!" The panel depicts a first-person view of a hole with stone and diamond ore blocks, dual-wielding a pickaxe and a torch, and HUD that mimics Minecraft.^[47]

A trilogy of unofficial novels based off Minecraft, featuring Herobrine as the main antagonist.​^{[more information needed]}

A collection of three unofficial Minecraft stories, composed of "over 2,200 images". The book tells the story of a girl named Phoenix, who discovers her parents died fighting the Ender Dragon, and goes on a quest to finish their legend. Along the way she fights many foes, including Herobrine, and "corruption that threatens to destroy all of Xenos".^[48]

Invader Zim is a comic book continuation of the Nickelodeon animated series of the same name. In Issue 5, Dib is banished into a Minecraft-like video game as revenge by Gaz.^[49]

In an issue of the Swedish Donald Duck magazine, Jens Bergensten makes a cameo appearance.^[50] In the segment he is stylized as a duck with a T-shirt featuring a Donald skin, and gives programming tips.​^{[more information needed]}

During Issue 16 of the 2013 run of The Superior Spider-Man, Carlie Cooper can be seen wearing a creeper hoodie.^[51][52] During Issue 26 of The Immortal Hulk, Amadeus Cho asks if Bruce Banner "still plays Minecraft on peaceful".

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  Carlie Cooper as she appears in The Superior Spider-Man no.16
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An unofficial novel, telling the story of Jayden "Minecraft" Montgomery being transported into the Minecraft universe with the help of a fox.​^{[more information needed][53]}

Squares / y 13, released on January 14, 2022, is a single containing 2 songs, titled squares and y 13, both using music from various C418 songs​^{[more information needed]} with the lyrics referencing aspects of the game, such as the first day and mining for diamonds.

During Video Games, a special single devoted to the video game medium, Jack Black appeared in various forms parodying several video games. Among these is a Minecraft-style model, holding a diamond pickaxe.^[54]

During the 2012 installment of YouTube Rewind, multiple references to Minecraft are made. At one point, a clip from the CaptainSparklez video Fallen Kingdom is shown. Later, two people dressed as Steve in a diamond helmet dance to the rhythm of Gangnam Style.^[55][56] During the 2014 installment, Minecraft is briefly referenced with a live action sequence, before seguing to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.^[57]

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During the music video for Underdog, animated by OFF SCRIPT, released November 28, 2025, there is a scene where Kake attacks Aira, shown from Aira's perspective.^[58] Her view has a HUD overlaid, showing that she is in survival mode with full health and that she has 5 undying totems, holding one in the main hand. Kake kills her in one hit, making the totem activate.

The animators have also made a short animation promoting the song, where Kake and Aira are shown playing skyblock, and Aira messes up the cobblestone generator.^[59]

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  Kake attacks Aira
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  Aira's undying totem activates
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  Aira messes up the cobblestone generator

At The Game Awards 2024, during a conversation about chickens, Geoff Keighley and Muppets star Gonzo briefly look at a picture of a chicken mob.^[60][61] At The Game Awards 2025, Muppets star Rowlf the Dog offhandedly mentioned Minecraft during a song listing off many other video game properties.^[62][63]

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  Gonzo and his board about chickens
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  Miss Piggy watching Rowlf sing

On September 17, 2022, as part of the Spamton Sweepstakes alternate reality game for Deltarune, a bird character discusses issues he is having with the game "Minecrap", a callback to another reference made in the game.^[64]

On September 21, 2025, a live stream was held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Undertale. During the first day of the stream, series creator Toby Fox recounts a story where he flew on a plane and showed an old man his game. He asked he show it to his kids, but doesn't know if he ever did, and jokes that he dismissed it saying "This is mid. They should play Minecraft."^[65]

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  An unfictional comment left mentioning Minecrap
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  Toby Fox recounting the story

v t e Minecraft franchise
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Collaborations Games Age of Empires Angry Birds Awesomenauts Battlefield Heroes Borderlands Choplifter HD Halo Just Dance Retro City Rampage Sonic the Hedgehog CrossWorlds The Stanley Parable Super Meat Boy Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Terraria Tetris Torchlight II Film DC Studios Disney Universal Studios Television Adventure Time Doctor Who Dragon Ball Z Hello Kitty The Muppets SpongeBob SquarePants Merchandise Lego Minecraft Mine Chest Mattel merchandise Minecraft Hot Wheels Action figures Mini figures Plush toys Papercraft Ravensburger puzzles UNO Minecraft Creeper Crunch Gameband Go-Gurt Higround Youtooz The Woobles Heroes of Goo Jit Zu Sprayground LUSH PEZ Cubeez Fossil CuffLinks Swarovski OppoSuits AntiSocialSocialClub Very Cool Gashapon Other MLB TikTok Game Rewards Twitch Drops Randy Peters adverts MC Championship Ender Cup Colour the World The Copper Crown Dungeons & Dragons Minecraft Adventure Seattle Children's Minecraft Server TruMoo Ice Cube Claims Adjuster

v t e Community culture
Rumors	Blue Berries Bluestone Dust Herobrine Sand Layer
Phenomena	Chicken jockey sensation Custom maps[tt] Glossary[tt] Minecraft in popular culture Mods
Game concepts	Manhunt[tt] Skyblock SkyWars[tt] Speedrun[tt] Spleef
Media	Blockbench Chunker Element Animation Hat Films Hermitcraft MC Championship MinecraftEdu ModJam The Uncensored Library Villager News
Website	Minecraft@Home Minecraft Wiki Minecraft Forum Omniarchive
Figures	Aphmau BigB CaptainSparklez DanTDM Deadmau5 Grian hannahxxrose HBomb94 LDShadowLady Logdotzip Mumbo Jumbo Seapeekay Stampy Smajor Technoblade
Characters	Denton Dr. Trayaurus Villager No. 5 Villager No. 9