Microsoft will acquire Stockholm-based development studio Mojang, the company behind what is arguably the world’s most popular video game, Minecraft, for $2.5 billion, Mojang announced on its website today.
Minecraft is a “sandbox”-style game in which players are allowed to do more or less whatever they want; there are no stated goals or objectives, and there is no way to win the game. In spite of that (or perhaps because of it), Minecraft has been downloaded more than 100 million times since its release for PC in 2009.
The deal came as something of a surprise, as Mojang has built a reputation for fierce independence under the leadership of its founders, Marcus Persson, Carl Manneh and Jakob Porsér. The company even went so far as to refuse an investment by former Facebook president Sean Parker, and Persson, the lead developer of Minecraft, indicated on Twitter that he’s not a Facebook fan.
We were in talks about maybe bringing a version of Minecraft to Oculus. I just cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out.
— Markus Persson (@notch) March 25, 2014
Persson has also publicly ripped Microsoft.
Hey, Microsoft! You might be a big and scary American company that likes secrets and meetings and such, but I love working with you! <3
— Markus Persson (@notch) May 9, 2012
It is not surprising, then, that Persson will not be making the transition to Microsoft. He announced that he’s bailing in his own statement, released just a few minutes after the deal was announced.
NoYesYesmicrosoft, buy, minecraft, maker, 25, billion, lead, developer, quitWebWhitelistEMEAUSThank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change. It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.