Minecraft given a release date

Block-based phenomena Minecraft will be digging its way out of beta this November, with an official release date of 11/11/11.
Of course, the massively successful title will continue to receive updates so a release date is largely symbolic. In a news post about the release, creator Markus Persson states that the move is “really more of a milestone when we finally get rid of the Beta label, and some kind of goal for us to work towards.”

He also notes that this is the same release day as The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, which “will be a nice reward for me if we actually manage to hit that date!”
The same news post notes that version 1.5 of Minecraft will likely be appearing next week, complete with weather effects.