Posted Mon Sep 15, 2014 at 09:43 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
"Buy him out boys."
As had been reported last week, Microsoft is acquiring Mojang, the company that owns 'Minecraft,' for $2.5 billion. While the co-founders, including Notch, have already announced that they will be leaving the company, developers that have been working on the phenomenal title for years, like lead dev Jens Bergensten, will be staying on.
Microsoft has described the deal as adding portfolio diversity, and even being a key way to expand Microsoft gaming to other platforms.
From Phil Spencer, "Minecraft adds diversity to our game portfolio and helps us reach new gamers across multiple platforms. Gaming is the top activity across devices and we see great potential to continue to grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise. That is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms – including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC."
Microsoft is keen on continuing the 'Mincraft' trend, citing the 2 billion hours spent by players in the 360 version of 'Minecraft' over the past two years, and Microsoft will even support next year's MINECON.
Phil Spencer has even put out a short video explaining the history of Microsoft and 'Minecraft.'
As Notch exits Mojang, he appears to be looking for a return to small-time development. "As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately."
Meanwhile, Microsoft's immediate message is that they love everything 'Minecraft' and intend to keep things going. It will be interesting to see if a grander ambition emerges from what is an expensive acquisition.
Source: Xbox Wire
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.