Microsoft has Acquired Minecraft For 25 Billion

Microsoft has acquired Minecraft For $2.5 Billion

Microsoft has confirmed that Mojang and Minecraft will join its ranks, but will continue to make the game available across iOS, Android and PlayStation as well as on Xbox and PC the company announced today. Microsoft states that they began discussions about the game's release on the Xbox console and then saw their huge success and made the decision to purchase the game to help "diversify its game offerings."

The team announced that Markus "Notch" Persson and Carl Manneh, founders of Mojang, have resigned from Mojang following the acquisition. Mojang's official site also confirmed the previously reported purchase price of $2.5 billion. In their blog post the Mojang community team says that Notch did not want to be a part of such a globally influential company, and would prefer to work on smaller projects. The sale was done to allow Minecraft to continue to grow while allowing the original team to pursue other interests.

Mojang makes no assurances about the specific plans for the future the pipeline for Minecraft however, it states that for the time being, it will remain as normal. Microsoft says it "respect[sMinecraft's name and independent spirit" and will continue projects like MINECON which is an annual event that focuses on the game created by Mojang in 2010.

The community reaction to this news will be mixed. Minecraft fans who have been playing the game since its inception will likely be skeptical of the new owners of the company. However, the reasoning behind the purchase is solid. We'll get the chance to see if Notch is able to do it again and also to see whether the next generation's Lego version will be as good as the current one.

Here are Notch's thoughts on the deal and his decision to exit the company he founded. This is from his blog, which was crashed at the time this writing was completed. :

Mojang is leaving me.

I don't consider myself to be a game developer. I make games to have amusement and because I love programming and games. Talkegypt But I don't make games with the aim of making them a huge hit. I don't even want to change the world. People are raving about how Minecraft has revolutionized the world. It didn't happen on accidental. It's flatteringand interesting to slowly get in the public spotlight.

A long time ago, I made the decision to retire from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to take over leading it, and I wanted to experiment with new things. Although I tried to make it big again at first, it was a failure. However, since I decided to stick with small prototypes, interesting challenges and I have enjoyed so much at work I've never looked back. Although I wasn't certain where I would fit in Mojang, where people actually work, people said I was important to the culture and I decided to stay.

A couple of weeks ago, i was suffering from a terrible cold at home, and the internet was abuzz with rage about me for a EULA situation that I had nothing. I was confused. I didn't understand. I tweeted this out of frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and began to realize I didn't have the connection with my fans I thought I did. I've become an image. I don’t want to be a symbol. I don't want be accountable for something I don't understand. That I don’t want to work on. I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm not an executive director. I am a geeky computer programmer who enjoys posting my opinions on Twitter.

As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and continue to work on Ludum Dares as well as small web-based experiments. I'll probably end any project I accidentally create that gains traction.

Given that the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don't expect to be free of negative comments by doing this but at least I won't feel a responsibility to read them.

This is in direct contradiction to many of my public statements. I don't have a solid answer to this. I'm also aware that many of you were using me as a symbol for an apparent struggle. I'm not. I'm a human being and I'm right there with you.

You are my best friend. All of you. Thank you for making Minecraft what it is today. There are just too many of us, and I am not responsible for something as large as Minecraft. In one sense, it's belong to Microsoft today. It's been part of your lives for a long time, and will continue to be yours. Talk Egypt

It's not all about money. It's about my sanity.