‘Minecraft’ Officially Owned By Microsoft, Notch Has Left The Building
Microsoft’s $2.5 billion deal to acquire Minecraft was finally completed Thursday. Xbox head Phil Spencer made the announcement on Twitter while Markus “Notch” Persson, the game’s creator, found it awkward to say goodbye.
Rumors of Microsoft’s purchase of Mojang first cropped up in September, followed by an official announcement mid-month. That was only the first step, however, as the final details of the sale had to be worked out and had to gain regulatory approval. This was all finalized within a relatively quick two months.
It’s official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family. We’re excited for the possibilities ahead w/the Minecraft community.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) November 6, 2014
Meanwhile, Persson’s final day in the Mojang offices was a little awkward. Saying goodbye is always hard and it was probably more so for the man who created a game in his spare time that grew to be worth billions of dollars.
I left the mojang office for the last time, and didn’t properly say bye because everything is strange.
— Markus Persson (@notch) November 5, 2014
I don’t even know what a fitting bye is. So I just left like it’s a normal day, with normal things happening.
— Markus Persson (@notch) November 5, 2014
As I previously covered for Inquisitr, Microsoft’s purchase of Mojang won’t change Minecraft much in the short term outside of Notch’s departure, who hasn’t involved in the day-to-day development since late 2011. Support for the PC version will continue along with the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS Vita, iOS, and Android versions. The PC and Pocket Edition versions of the game will still be developed by Mojang while 4J Studios will handle the console versions.
Long-term, there’s a potential to grow the brand by making use of Microsoft’s money, tools, and services. Spencer hinted as much when the announcement was made.
“The ‘Minecraft’ community is passionate and diverse, ranging across all ages and demographics,” Spencer wrote. “We respect the brand and independent spirit that has made ‘Minecraft’ great, and we’ll carry on the tradition of innovation to move the franchise forward. Our investments in cloud, Xbox Live and mobile technology will enable players to benefit from richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools, and more opportunities to connect with the ‘Minecraft’ community.”
He later promised a 10-year-old girl that Microsoft won’t mess up Minecraft.
“I want you to know that we plan to keep all the things that people love about ‘Minecraft’ the same. We will look for ways to make ‘Minecraft’ better with more opportunities for players to play, connect and share together.”
What do you think of Minecraft now that it is officially in the hands of Microsoft? Is the future bright or gloomy? Sound off in the comments below.
[Images via Microsoft]
