Markus Alexej Persson is born in Stockholm, Sweden.

Growing up in Edsbyn, Hälsingland. His father, a railway worker, was into computers. Markus's parents are of Finnish and Swedish descent. Family life was apparently quite difficult with financial insecurities and his father eventually became addicted to gambling, but it was a loving environment.

Markus starts programming on a Commodore 128 home computer that his father brought home, initiating his early interest in computer programming. He started by typing in code from computer magazines.

His first game was a simple text-based adventure game.

Experimented with various programming languages and game development tools. This period fostered his passion for creating interactive experiences. He also worked on demoscene productions.

Inspired by games like Dungeon Keeper, Dwarf Fortress, and Infiniminer, elements of which later contributed to Minecraft's design.