In what is surely the biggest news story in video gaming this year, Minecraft developer Mojang has been acquired by Microsoft for a staggering 2.5 billion dollars
This news comes in the wake of recent industry rumblings suggesting Mojang was in talks with the software giant Microsoft. Mojang’s Chief World Officer Owen Hill took to its blog to confirm that the two and half billion dollar acquisition is definitely happening.
The acquisition comes with another price, however, the departure of Minecraft creator Markus Persson aka Notch. Notch took to his own blog to address his departure, saying that he never meant for Minecraft to get so big, and that he wants to work on smaller projects.
“I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand, that I don’t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me.” Notch wrote on his blog. “I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter”
In addition to Notch’s departure, both Mojang founders Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser are also leaving.
One of the biggest intellectual properties in gaming right now, Minecraft has spread from the PC to consoles and smart phones. Now that Microsoft owns the game, the future trajectory of the Minecraft franchise is uncertain.
And to put this in perspective for you: Microsoft bought Rareware, a veteran developer who developed hit after hit for the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64, for 375 million dollars. Mojang has one game under its belt, and the company sold for more than 2 billion. If you thought Minecraft wasn’t a big deal—you know it is now.
What do you guys think about the buyout? Do you enjoy mobile Minecraft? Let us know in the comments.