People Love Watching Minecraft Videos on YouTube

Turns out, stacking blocks leads to a whole lot of streaming.

YouTube on Wednesday announced that people watch videos about Minecraft more than any other game on the platform.

"There are over 42 million 'Minecraft' videos on YouTube today," Ryan Wyatt, YouTube's global head of gaming content, told the Associated Press. "It's crazy because 'Minecraft' is also the second most searched term on YouTube. It's a testament to (publisher) Mojang understanding the marketing capacity and power of our content creators."

So which games did Minecraft beat out? Big names like Grand Theft Auto, League of Legends, and Call of Duty. Rockstar Games' mega-popular gangster franchise GTA came in at No. 2 while Riot Games' multiplayer online battle arena Leage of Legends took the third spot. Activision's Call of Duty nabbed fourth place, followed by Electronic Arts' soccer favorite FIFA.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Garry's Mod at No. 6, followed by The Sims, Five Nights at Freddy's, Puzzles & Dragon, and Dota 2, AP said.

The YouTube stats come after Microsoft in September acquired Mojang, the Swedish firm behind Minecraft, for $2.5 billion. Mojang promised that the game will continue to evolve under Microsoft's roof.

One recent addition — a dose of girl power. Minecraft last month got a new red-haired, female character known as Alex.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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