Microsoft Buys Minecraft Developer Mojang For $2.5Bn
Last week we told you about the rumors surrounding the possible buyout of Mojang by Microsoft. Yesterday the company officially announced that the rumors were true, except for one tiny detail. Microsoft is paying $2.5 billion for the company, not the reported $2 billion. (That’s right, $500 million is a “small detail.”)
The big question on everyone’s mind since the rumor broke last week is what changed Notch’s mind about selling off the company. The answer is kind of sad, actually. Normally, this is the part where I’d give you a short summary of what he had to say. But honestly, I think everyone should read his post in its entirety. So take a couple of minutes and read the post that he made over on his personal blog, here.
I think a lot of people were ready to criticize Notch for changing his stance and “selling out”, but when you read his reasoning, it just makes me sad. Here’s a guy that just wanted to make some fun little games and stay out of the spotlight, and he became a living legend who changed the way we look at indie games. I don’t think anyone can fault him for his decision to get out of the game.
So what does this mean for the future of Minecraft? Well, we don’t know for certain, but Mojang has said that they plan on continuing development for the game on all of its current platforms. We’ll just have to wait and see what Microsoft has planned for their newest purchase.
