Markus Persson, also known as "Notch," is a Swedish video game developer best known for creating the popular game Minecraft. Born on June 1, 1979, he began programming at a young age and developed Minecraft in 2009. The game quickly gained popularity for its open-world design and creative gameplay, allowing players to build and explore virtual worlds. In 2011, Persson founded the game development company Mojang, which was responsible for further developing Minecraft. In 2014, he sold Mojang and the rights to Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion. Since then, he has stepped back from game development and has focused on other interests.