Minecraft is one of the world's biggest video games – so big, in fact, that Microsoft paid a staggering $2.5 billion to acquire both the rights to it and ownership of its creator, Mojang, in 2014.
However, according to game designer and former Microsoft executive Peter Molyneux, the company's initial reaction to the game when it was first revealed was a little more lukewarm.
Speaking on Simon Parkin's My Perfect Console podcast, the man behind Populous and Black & White said:
I can remember being at Microsoft and people laughing at Minecraft, [saying] Minecraft doesn't have a tutorial, it doesn't have any adversaries, it doesn't have any story, it [has] rubbish graphics – but they missed the point.
It was a game that allowed players true freedom, and it nurtured that freedom. It was like this flash of lightning in a clear blue sky.
This should be recognised as the greatest game ever designed and ever made.
On the podcast – which tasks its guests with picking five games they'd include on their fictional dream games console – saw Molyneux also select Wizardry, ICO, Half-Life 2 and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
What would be the name of this console? The Exaggerator, he says. No matter what you think of Molyneux, you can't say he doesn't have a sense of humour.