# Famous games that started small: from Tetris to Minecraft

> Plenty. Minecraft started with a version made in one weekend; Tetris, with three weeks of a researcher's work on a computer that could not show pictures; Wordle, as a game for two people. None of them was made with AI, and almost all their creators already knew how to program. What they show is that a big game can start very small.

Summary for when you're short on time

- Minecraft started with a basic version made by one person over a weekend in May 2009, and it sold 40 copies in its first weekend on sale.
- Tetris took about three weeks, in 1984, on a computer that only showed text; today, according to the company that owns the brand, it has sold more than 520 million units.
- Angry Birds was game number 52 from a Finnish company close to bankruptcy, and it cost €100,000.
- Mario was born in 1981 in a game made to use up 2,000 unsold arcade machines, created by an artist who did not program.
- Among Us spent two years with 30 to 50 people playing per hour before it became a craze during the pandemic.
- Wordle was made for two people: on November 1, 2021, 90 people played, and almost two months later it was 300,000.
- Stardew Valley took four years of work by a single person, paid for with a part-time night job.

Your first step: Write, in three sentences, the smallest version of the game you would like to make: what the player does, how they win and why they would play again.

By Daniel Novi. Published October 14, 2026. Updated October 14, 2026. Address: https://www.gamearchitectsai.com/en/stories/famous-games-that-started-small

## What do these stories prove, and what don't they?

Before the seven games, four warnings, so you read each story the right way:

- **None of these games was made with AI.** They date from 1981 to 2021.
- **These are the ones that worked.** For each of them, there are thousands of games almost nobody played.
- **Almost all the creators already knew how to program.** They started small; they did not start from zero.
- **The big numbers come from the companies that own the games,** and they are marked that way.

## How did each one start?

| Game | Year | How it started | Who made it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minecraft | 2009 | A basic version, in one weekend | One person, with a day job |
| Tetris | 1984 | Three weeks, on a computer with no graphics | A researcher |
| Angry Birds | 2009 | Game number 52 from a company close to bankruptcy | A small company |
| Mario | 1981 | A game to use up 2,000 unsold machines | An artist and engineers |
| Among Us | 2018 | Two years with almost nobody playing | Three people |
| Wordle | 2021 | A game for two people | One person |
| Stardew Valley | 2016 | Four years of work, paid for with another job | One person |

## How did Minecraft start?


In May 2009, Markus Persson, a Swede known as Notch, wrote a basic version of the game on his own over a weekend and showed it on a forum for independent game makers[1]. He was not a beginner: he had been programming since childhood and had made 25 to 30 games at a web game company[1].

A month later, he started charging 10 euros for the still-unfinished game. In the first weekend of sales, 40 copies sold[1]. Nine months later it was 6,400, and he was still working two days a week at his job[2].

The idea was not entirely his, either. He said himself that when he came across a small game called Infiniminer, he thought that was the game he wanted to make[3]. The "weekend" applies to the first, very simple version. He built the rest along with the people who were already playing.

## Who created Tetris?


In 1984, Alexey Pajitnov was a researcher at a computing center of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, in Moscow. In his spare time he made little games to test the lab's computers. According to him, it took about three weeks to have something you could control on the screen[4].

The computer could not show pictures, only text. That is why the pieces in the first version were made of letters and symbols[4]. The game spread on copied floppy disks, passed from hand to hand, and in 1989 it shipped with the Game Boy[5].

Pajitnov handed the rights to the government for ten years and only started getting paid for the game in 1995[5]. Today, according to the company that owns the brand, more than 520 million units have been sold, counting every version[6].

## How was Angry Birds born?


Rovio, a small company in Finland, had made 51 games before Angry Birds, most of them commissioned by other companies[7]. In early 2009, it was close to bankruptcy[7].

One of the team's creators showed a drawing of round little birds with angry faces. It took eight months and thousands of changes before the game came out, in December 2009[7]. It cost €100,000 and, by early 2011, the brand had already brought in more than €50 million[7].

One of the founders says he only knew for sure the game had worked when he saw his mother, who never played anything, let the Christmas turkey burn because she could not put the phone down[7]. The 51 earlier games were not 51 failures: some sold well for the clients. They were 51 attempts.

## How was Mario created?


Shigeru Miyamoto had a degree in industrial design and had joined Nintendo as the company's first artist[8]. A Nintendo game had flopped in the United States, leaving 2,000 arcade machines sitting in a warehouse. The president asked Miyamoto for a new game to put those machines to use[8].

The result was Donkey Kong, in 1981, with a short carpenter who jumped over barrels. The character had no name. Staff at the American office called him Mario because he looked like the landlord of the building they were renting[8].

Miyamoto came up with the ideas and the drawings. The programming was done by engineers, many of them from another company[9]. Today the Mario games add up to at least 893.4 million units sold, the best-selling video game series in the world according to Guinness[10].

## How did Among Us become a hit?


Among Us was released in 2018 by a team of three people who already made games[11]. At first, you could only play with people in the same place[11].

After launch, the game spent two years with 30 to 50 people playing per hour, according to its creators[12]. By January 2020, the team already considered the game complete[11]. Months later, during the pandemic, it became a craze: in November 2020, according to the company, almost 500 million people played that month[11].

The game was practically the same as in 2018. What changed was the timing.

## Who created Wordle?


Josh Wardle, a programmer from Wales, made the game so that he and his girlfriend, Palak Shah, would have something to pass the time during the pandemic[13]. He opened the game to everyone in October 2021. On November 1, 90 people played. Almost two months later, it was 300,000[14].

On January 31, 2022, The New York Times bought the game. The price was not disclosed: the paper only says it was more than 1 million dollars[14]. The creator says he has not played since the day he sold it[13].

## How was Stardew Valley made?


Eric Barone had a computer science degree and could not find a job in the field. The money to make the game came from a part-time night job as an usher at a theater in Seattle[15].

He did everything alone: programming, art, music and writing. He learned art and music by doing them, over four years[16]. It was not easy: GQ describes 12-hour days, seven days a week[15].

The game came out in February 2016 and passed 1 million copies in two months. According to the official site, it had sold more than 41 million by December 2024[16].

## What do these beginnings have in common?

This part is our take, based on the seven stories:

- **The first version was small, and sometimes ugly.** Pieces made of letters, one weekend of work, a game for two people.
- **Someone played it early.** Minecraft kept improving with people who were already paying for it; Wordle was made for just one person.
- **Almost nobody got it right the first time.** Rovio made 51 games before; Among Us waited two years; Stardew Valley took four.

**The other side.** These are survivor stories. For each game on this list, there are thousands that started the same way and nobody played. And almost all the creators already programmed or worked in games: Miyamoto, who did not program, had engineers for that. Starting small guarantees nothing. It is just the most common way to start.

## And what does this have to do with making games with AI?

None of these games used AI. What has changed since then is who does each part. Miyamoto came up with ideas and drew, and engineers programmed. Today, someone who does not program can hand that part to AI and keep what he did: deciding what the game is and whether it is fun (our take). See [what AI does and what stays with you](/en/start-here/make-a-game-without-coding).

## Related questions

### Who created Tetris?

Alexey Pajitnov, a researcher at a computing center of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, in Moscow. He made the first version in 1984, in about three weeks, on a computer that only showed text.

### How long did it take to make Minecraft?

The first, very simple version was written by Markus Persson over a weekend in May 2009. He kept improving the game with the people who were already playing, and nine months later he was still working two days a week at a job.

### How much was Wordle sold for?

The exact amount was never disclosed. According to The New York Times, which bought the game on January 31, 2022, it was a sum in the range of more than 1 million dollars.

### Who created Mario?

Shigeru Miyamoto, an industrial design graduate and Nintendo's first artist. The character debuted with no name in Donkey Kong, in 1981. Miyamoto came up with the ideas and the drawings; the programming was left to engineers.

### How did Among Us become famous?

Slowly. Released in 2018 by a team of three, it spent two years with 30 to 50 people playing per hour. During the pandemic it became a craze: in November 2020, according to the company, almost 500 million people played that month.

### How long did it take to make Stardew Valley?

Four years, according to the game's official site. Eric Barone did everything alone, programming, art, music and writing, and learned art and music along the way. The game came out in February 2016 and passed 1 million copies in two months.

## Sources

1. Wired UK, "Changing the game: how Notch made Minecraft a cult hit" (Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/20181118102229/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/changing-the-game (accessed October 13, 2026)
2. Gamasutra, interview with Markus Persson (March 23, 2010, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/20100509113422/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27719/Interview_Markus_Notch_Persson_Talks_Making_Minecraft.php (accessed October 13, 2026)
3. Markus Persson, "The origins of Minecraft" (October 30, 2009, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/2014/https://notch.tumblr.com/post/227922045/the-origins-of-minecraft (accessed October 13, 2026)
4. The Guardian, "Tetris: how we made the addictive computer game" (June 2, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/02/how-we-made-tetris (accessed October 13, 2026)
5. CNN, "Tetris: The Soviet 'mind game' that took over the world" (October 31, 2019): https://www.cnn.com/style/article/tetris-video-game-history/index.html (accessed October 13, 2026)
6. The Tetris Company, "Tetris By The Numbers" (Internet Archive copy from December 6, 2024): https://web.archive.org/web/20241206233755/https://tetris.com/by-the-numbers (accessed October 13, 2026)
7. Wired UK, "How Rovio made Angry Birds a winner" (March 7, 2011, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/2011/http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/04/features/how-rovio-made-angry-birds-a-winner (accessed October 13, 2026)
8. The New Yorker, "Master of Play" (December 20, 2010): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/20/master-of-play (accessed October 13, 2026)
9. Wikipedia, "Donkey Kong (1981 video game)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey_Kong_(1981_video_game) (accessed October 13, 2026)
10. Guinness World Records, "Best-selling videogame series": https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-videogame-series-of-all-time (accessed October 13, 2026)
11. Innersloth, Among Us press kit: https://innersloth.com/press-kit-among-us (accessed October 13, 2026)
12. Paste Magazine, on Among Us two years after launch (September 4, 2020, Internet Archive copy): https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/among-us/among-us-game-twitch/ (accessed October 13, 2026)
13. BBC News, interview with the creator of Wordle (March 30, 2026): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2k3vz48qq7o (accessed October 13, 2026)
14. The New York Times Company, "Wordle Is Joining The New York Times Games" (January 31, 2022): https://www.nytco.com/press/wordle-new-york-times-games/ (accessed October 13, 2026)
15. GQ, "Valley Forged", profile of Eric Barone (March 20, 2018): https://www.gq.com/story/stardew-valley-eric-barone-profile (accessed October 13, 2026)
16. Stardew Valley, official press page: https://www.stardewvalley.net/press/ (accessed October 13, 2026)