Markus "Notch" Persson describes sandbox game as "freak thing," says he is beginning to struggle creatively for next project.

Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson is feeling pressure to replicate the success of his landmark sandbox game. In a New Yorker profile, Persson said making Minecraft was simpler because no one knew who he was.

"I definitely think Minecraft is a freak thing," Persson said. "There's no way you could replicate it intentionally. And yes, I'm starting to feel writer's block as a result. I“m not sure if it's pressure to repeat“Actually, it is the pressure to repeat. And with Minecraft it was just easier, because nobody knew who I was."

"Now I post a new idea and millions of people scrutinize it," he added. "There's a conflict between the joy of being able to do whatever I want and the remarkable pressure of a watching world. I don't know how to switch it off."

The Minecraft franchise has sold more than 20 million copies across all platforms. Persson previously explained that he been blown away by the wealth he has amassed from Minecraft, describing it as a "s*** ton of money."

Persson is no longer directly developing Minecraft, having left the internal team at developer Mojang in December 2011. He is now working on the collectible card game Scrolls (with a beta scheduled for this month), as well as the space game ox10c. Persson told Polygon recently that though he has completed two playable prototypes, this project is "on ice" for now due to his own "weird creative block."

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