Minecraft accolades. Social media, parodies, adaptations, merchandise, and the MineCon convention played large roles in popularizing the game. It has also been used in educational environments ("Minecraft Education Edition"), especially in the realm of computing systems, as virtual computers and hardware devices have been built in it. By late 2018, over 154 million copies had been sold across all platforms, making it the second best-selling video game of all time, behind "Tetris". In September 2014, Microsoft announced a deal to buy Mojang and the "Minecraft" intellectual property for , with the acquisition completed two months later. Spin-off games, such as "",
Minecraft the Egmont Group, a children's book publisher, to create "Minecraft" handbooks, annuals, poster books, and magazines. MineCon is an official convention dedicated to "Minecraft". The first one was held in November 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. All 4,500 tickets for MineCon 2011 were sold out by 31 October. The event included the official launch of "Minecraft"; keynote speeches, including one by Persson; building and costume contests; "Minecraft"-themed breakout classes; exhibits by leading gaming and "Minecraft"-related companies; commemorative merchandise; and autograph and picture times with Mojang employees and well-known contributors from the "Minecraft" community. After