Official: Microsoft buys Minecraft creators Mojang

It was rumoured last week, this week it became reality. Microsoft have bought Swedish developer Mojang of Minecraft fame. Microsoft announced deal (here and here), providing an Xbox perspective as well as a business perspective.

Phil Spencer wrote:

"At Microsoft, we believe in the power of content to unite people. 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 also confirmed that Minecon will happen next year.

Mojang issued their own piece on the subject in Mojang style, while Markus "Notch" Persson simply said "I'll probably share my personal thoughts soon." on Twitter.

The most pressing question they had to answer was "why sell it?":

"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.

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.

There are only a handful of potential buyers with the resources to grow Minecraft on a scale that it deserves. We've worked closely with Microsoft since 2012, and have been impressed by their continued dedication to our game and its development. We're confident that Minecraft will continue to grow in an awesome way.

Minecraft means many different things to millions of people across the world, and to each and every Mojangsta. We feel that this is the best way for everyone - you guys included - to benefit."

A case of mo' money, mo' problems it seems. Mojang's founders Markus "Notch Persson", Carl Manneh, and Jakob Porsér are confirmed as leaving the company.

"The ‘Minecraft' players have taken the game and turned it into something that surpassed all of our expectations. The acquisition by Microsoft brings a new chapter to the incredible story of ‘Minecraft,'" said Carl Manneh, CEO, Mojang. "As the founders move on to start new projects, we believe the high level of creativity from the community will continue the game's success far into the future."