Do you know why Microsoft rewrote Minecraft in C++?<p>Games can certainly be successful in spite of performance problems, but why purposefully introduce them in the first place?<p>In the case of Notch, he used Java because he was most skilled at Java programming. The garbage collection, procedural generation, and multi-platform availability of the JVM allowed him to successfully release a massive hit as a solo indie developer.<p>At least that&#x27;s one way to interpret it. Another way is that, had Notch been as skilled in C++ or (these days) Rust he could have made just as good of a cross platform game (even more so on mobile), that didn&#x27;t concern itself with resource management outside of RAII and reference counting, was way more performant (no pauses), and in similar time frame as a skilled Java developer.<p>If you have a great idea use your favorite language. No doubt about that. You might be successful in spite of its specific deficiencies. However, if you are seeking a new language for a certain problem domain - like video games - choosing one with a feature that actively fights one of your fundamental goals (consistent framerate is only going to be a decision your users will regret you made.<p>It&#x27;s funny that people like to say &quot;users don&#x27;t care what language it&#x27;s written in&quot;. The fact that 8th graders know the the minecraft&#x27;s garbage collector is a problem, suggests that using a garbage collected language for soft-realtime video games results in a seriously leaky abstraction.