Minecraft of the alpha version of the game expanded. Persson continued to update the game with releases distributed to users automatically. These updates included new items, new blocks, new mobs, survival mode, and changes to the game's behavior (e.g. how water flows). To back the development of "Minecraft", Persson set up a video game company, Mojang, with the money earned from the game. On 11 December 2010, Persson announced that "Minecraft" was entering its beta testing phase on 20 December 2010. He further stated that bug fixes and all updates leading up to and including the release would still be free.
Minecraft and has never been commercially advertised except through word of mouth, and various unpaid references in popular media such as the "Penny Arcade" webcomic. By April 2011, Persson estimated that "Minecraft" had made €23 million (US$33 million) in revenue, with 800,000 sales of the alpha version of the game, and over 1 million sales of the beta version. In November 2011, prior to the game's full release, "Minecraft" beta surpassed 16 million registered users and 4 million purchases. By March 2012, "Minecraft" had become the 6th best-selling PC game of all time. , the game has sold 17 million copies