Microsoft Aquires Mojang for $2.5 Billion
Microsoft has announced today that they have purchased the Minecraft developer Mojang Entertainment for $2.5 Billion.
“Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft.”
Minecraft creators Markus ‘Notch’ Persson, Carl, and Jakob have all announced that they will be leaving the company shortly after the company was aquired by Microsoft citing that they were growing tired of working for big organizations and Minecraft has become such a huge property that it has turned into that.
“Minecraft has grown from a simple game to a project of monumental significance. Though we’re massively proud of what Minecraft has become, it was never Notch’s intention for it to get this big,” a statement reads. “As you might already know, Notch is the creator of Minecraft and the majority shareholder at Mojang. He’s decided that he doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance. Over the past few years he’s made attempts to work on smaller projects, but the pressure of owning Minecraft became too much for him to handle. The only option was to sell Mojang. He’ll continue to do cool stuff though. Don’t worry about that.”