If you look up Minecraft's release date, you'll come up with November 18, 2011. But that's not when players were introduced to the game. Markus "Notch" Persson teased us with a YouTube video of the game in early May of 2009. The game, or a version now called the Java edition, was released to forums on May 17. The first responses are archived for posterity. The public helped with tweaking the game, and feedback from players led to many updates before the "official" release. That's why Minecraft is celebrating it's 15th anniversary now.
Some of the most notable Minecraft players were children then, and latched onto the game and have yet to let go. YouTube rounded them up for a look back at the wonderful 15 years they've spent playing Minecraft. It's been a wild ride.