Minecraft Takes Top-Played Spot from Call of Duty on Xbox 360

Charts that show which games are the most played on Xbox Live are normally very predictable, so much so that 'Major Nelson' – who reports the figures on his blog – doesn't even bother to share them every week. But the charts he posted (without comment) on October 24^th show a significant surprise: above the likes of Borderlands 2, FIFA 13, and even – relegated to second place – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Minecraft has taken the top spot.

That's right, during the week starting October 15^th, more unique users connected to Xbox Live played Minecraft than Modern Warfare 3. Given the necessary exclusion of details for players not connected to Live, there's no way of telling whether Minecraft is more popular than Call of Duty there too, but the shooters have such a strong online presence that this is still a noteworthy achievement. After all, Minecraft is the epitome of small beginnings sprouting something huge, the David to topple Activision's yearly Goliath.

So what does this all mean? Are we saved? Would humanity really rather create than destroy? And if Minecraft becomes as well known a name as Call of Duty among non-gamers, will they stop thinking we're all murderous psychopaths?