The Xbox 360 version of Minecraft has been a hit, in spite of lacking some of the features of its PC brethren. Developer 4J Studios has promised steady updates to add new features, but one of the biggest and most significant patches will also be the most difficult. After a smaller patch, 4J will be moving into adding the Adventure update.

Read more: 'We're looking forward to the challenge!' »

"This 'Minecraft' thing is just a fad, right?" - Fictional person made up for the purposes of this article.

Sorry, fictional person. It appears that Minecraft's popularity extends beyond the PC. The Xbox 360 Edition of Mojang Specification's iconic crafting game has sold a million copies in less than one week on the market. According to Microsoft, that means the game has broken "all previous Xbox Live Arcade digital sales records." Sorry, Trials Evolution.

Read more: 5.2 million hours played »

Split-screen co-op is one of the big features Minecraft on Xbox Live Arcade boasts over the PC original, but some disappointed players are finding it unexpectedly unavailable to them. It turns out, and is not explained before you buy the game, that split-screen is only for HD displays, and is simply blocked from poor SD users.

Read more: Notch "wasn't even aware of that" »

We've known that Minecraft has been extremely popular and a cash cow for developer Mojang, so it isn't too much of a surprise to learn that the Xbox 360 version, a port from the PC, has done extremely well.

Read more: Strong sales after 24 hours »

Minecraft has been crafted on the PC through numerous updates to refine and evolve the game into its current state. We reviewed it when the game was officially released, and since then that process and the resulting changes have continued. For this console version of the game, Mojang Specifications and 4J Studios started with an earlier version of the PC game than what's out today, so it lacks some of the latest features. In addition, adapting the design to the platform required some streamlining. The resulting, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition captures the game's general tone, and the most important elements are still present, but the end result feels a bit watered down.

Read more: A simple concept gets even simpler »

A snapshot of the upcoming Minecraft update gives a look at some upcoming features, one of which will bring it more in line with Minecraft - Pocket Edition. The game is simplifying the way users can join each others' games, along with adding a few other minor tweaks.

Read more: 'Extra experimental' snapshot shortcuts server creation »

Mojang is getting ready to release the 1.2.5 update for Minecraft, but doesn't want to inconvenience the mod community. So rather than roll out the update all at once, the company is making a pre-release of the patch available now, with the "real" update coming in a few days.

Read more: 'It's not in our interest to make it hard for people' »

The indie hit Minecraft has been flexible enough to support projects like machinima, but books are less charted territory. To tie in with her young adult novel Gift, author Andrea Buchanan sanctioned a special map to recreate familiar settings from the book and create a meta-game within the Minecraft framework.

Read more: Goal to place block types on Gift monument »

Minecraft is raking in the cash, presumably with some combination of wooden planks and sticks. Mojang Specifications' latest financial filings show that since the launch of the game, the company has made $80 million in revenues.

Read more: Revenues almost match Rovio's Angry Birds »

You may remember about a week ago when Microsoft announced it would be raising the Gamerscore cap on Xbox Live Arcade games. The company is marking that event by promoting four high-profile Xbox Live Arcade titles, dubbing them collectively "Arcade Next."

Read more: Trials Evolution, Minecraft, and more release details »

Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Persson took the stage for his "fireside chat" with a beer in hand. The fireplace was naturally a retro 8-bit style video of a burning log that perfectly reflected the Minecraft aesthetic. Over the next forty five minutes he casually talked about the design and development of the game, why there's no female character, and gave a little update to his take on piracy.

Read more: On game design and piracy »

Minecraft has been a long time coming on Xbox Live Arcade, and developer 4J plans to support its development as closely as possible with the PC version. That doesn't mean the XBLA title won't get some of its own console features, though. The Xbox Spring Showcase revealed one nifty new feature.

Read more: Split-screen coming, Kinect on the wait-list »

Minecraft has updated to version 1.2. It doubles the map height limit so you can build even bigger towers, adds the new "Jungle" biome, and brings cats, ocelots, and iron golems. The golems seem especially useful, since the update video shows them fighting on the behalf of the adventurers.

Read more: Children, puppies, and better AI »

Indie developer Mojang Specifications has acquired some new employees to help enhance server support for its flagship title, Minecraft. While this is good news in and of itself, the most interesting part is that the new hires were selected from the Minecraft community; specifically, the top four developers of Bukkit, a "commununity-based Minecraft server implementation."

Read more: Who got hired? »

The circle is nearly complete. The team behind the Lego-inspired game Minecraft is getting ready to release Minecraft-themed Legos. Not since Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game has a product doubled back on itself so perfectly. The Mojang Specifications crew is in Copenhagen today, showing off the sets at LEGOworld.

Read more: A landscape and minifigs shown »