Microsoft Is Buying Minecraft

It didn't take long for rumors to become fact. Microsoft has closed a deal to purchase Mojang, which means Minecraft is moving under the Microsoft umbrella. Expected to close before the end of the year, the deal is worth $2.5 billion.

Minecraft creator Markus Persson, however, will not be staying along for the ride. He's leaving Mojang for personal reasons.

"As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments," said Persson in a blog post. "If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately. Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them. I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that. I’m also aware a lot of you were using me as a symbol of some perceived struggle. I’m not. I’m a person, and I’m right there struggling with you."

Microsoft already confirmed existing versions of Minecraft will continue to be developed and supported. That means Minecraft isn't disappearing from Android, PlayStation, or iOS. It's unclear what Microsoft's longterm plans are for Minecraft, but it's status quo for the time being.

Xbox head Phil Spencer released a video talking about his relationship with Persson and Mojang alongside the deal's announcement.

The company says Minecraft under Microsoft will soon benefit from "richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools, and more opportunities to connect across the Minecraft community." No timetable has been given for any of this, however.

Microsoft also expects its deal to pay off almost immediately. It anticipates the deal will break-even by the end of fiscal year 2015, which ends on June 30, 2015. That's not very far off.

It'll probably be a while before we learn what Persson is up to next.

"It’s not about the money," he said. "It’s about my sanity."

"It’s not about the money, it’s about my sanity."

$2.5 billion, Notch.

$2.5 billion.

To be fair a duty would've been owed to the other shareholders to act in their best interests and therefore sell Mojang for as high as possible.

But anyway, I get his reasons. I wish him good luck and look forward to his next project.

"It's not about the money,"

But I'm sure it helps.

Actual photo of Notch.

Ha, a Rare joke! Pretty sneaky!

You're being driven crazy by something and suddenly someone gives you a way out, you take it. All this money means he can go hide in a hole and never have the pressure to produce a "hit", it's freedom from the crazy and it means he can get his sanity back.

"It’s not about the money," he said. "It’s about my sanity. And the only way to stay sane in this crazy world is to live in a mansion made of solid gold."

Eh, I'd take the money and run too. It's not like Minecraft is some big artistic philosophy piece you need to stand by to "stick it to the man". He's already put it on every platform, and people shit in his inbox daily. Why stick around for anything more? I'd take that money, buy me a sandwich and a new recliner and never check my email again.

Not gonna knock him for taking the money; it's what an sane person would do.

For 2.5 billion, you could buy sanity. Also love and happiness.

I'd do a lot worse than sell my company to Microsoft for 2.5 billion dollars.

Who cares, SURGE IS BACK!

for real though, this has been a long time coming.

Phill Spencer approves paperwork to acquire The Behemoth games and Team Meat. He heads into his private executive bathroom, splashes water on his face, and then announce to no one "this is great for everyone!" With a big television friendly smile, and a only barely noticeable twitch in his left eye.

FICTION OR FUTURE?!

I see where he's coming from. If I wrote a program that became the new hotness, I'd probably sell it once someone respectable met a price I agreed with. I like to work on things, not be some Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg CEO type.

Good on him, I would do exactly the same thing. In fact, I would've done it sooner. But please don't say things like "I'm right there struggling with you." I bet you a billion dollars you are not.

Guys, you realize that if it was about the money he'd keep it, right? Minecraft is still making tons.

I sometimes wonder if today's culture of social media and and exposure is completely antithetical to the nature of people in game development. These are people who just like games and like making them, not dealing with customer support, PR, press and the general shittiness of the internet.

"Microsoft also expects its deal to pay off almost immediately. It anticipates the deal will break-even by the end of fiscal year 2015, which ends on June 30, 2015. That's not very far off."

That can't be purely from game sales, right? At this point, I have to imagine most of the money Minecraft is making is coming from merchandising. But what do I know.

@poki3: Minecraft made around $130 million in profit last year. Basically when doing a valuation of a company you take all the cash flows the thing will ever make ever and adjust for inflation and all that and pay you for it now. If Minecraft made that much every (it won't), it would take him 19 years to make 2.5 billion.

OR, he can take the money, and do something else.

I think its about the money.

Seinfeld sold his show, Notch his game. I wouldn't think twice with that amount of money.

Does that mean we get Minecraft in future versions of Windows for free? Minecraft is the new Pinball.

@gaff: #IDARB may disagree with you.

Cmon Microsoft, sell me a copy of Minecraft (PC) that doesn't use that stupid Mojang site to manage my account. Seriously, fix that crap. I've lost 2 accounts to that broken thing.

Mo' money = mo' problems. He got out because running something that profitable is stupid stressful. When you are a self admitted "hothead" without much sense of business its is even more stressful. He rode the tiger, and now wants to get off. But when that tiger has taken you so far from where you were, it nice to have bus fair back or at least the resources to make sense out of never being able to get back.

Notch will never stop getting letters form people saying, "My kid is sick, please help", "I have this great business idea...", "You took this from me, so I'm suing you" and countless other headache inducing things/demands. That $2.5 billion divided between a small company must seem like a lot until you realize 200 instances of ALL OF THE ABOVE will happen to him every damn day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lottery Winner Statistics (click link to see them all)

- How many are happier = 55%

- How many who were married are still = 90%

- How many unmarried are still together = 100%

- Percent of winners who have given some money to their family = 83%
- Percent of lottery winners who had spent their entire winnings within 5 years = 44 %
- Percent of winners who already had a best friend and are still best friends 90 %

Some of that must sound encouraging, being married, sharing with friends, etc....but having a divorce rate lower than average might mean you are STUCK because the leech won't ever let go. Ahving best friends that are still bets friends...yeah I bet they stick to you like glue! And, spening it all in 5 years...well that's crazy in some cases.

It funny to see 83% give money to family, but that siblings are likely to get the most, and get it the most often. Kids? Parents? Well, blood is thicker than water, but I guess since it about 50/50 if you will get any.

make your best offer to dave lang

Psychonauts 2

Wait, they expect the deal to break even in nine months? 2.5 billion in profits from sales and merchandizing from this one game alone? What?

WHAT! (quick google search) HELL YEAH!! FUCK YOU VOLT YOU KNOCK OFF PEACE OF SHIT!

I absolutely do NOT begrudge him for taking the money - it is what I would do, and I have no shame in admitting that. Almost anyone would.

Is it a bit hypocritical, or even very hypocritical? Sure. But you know what? Mojang aren't making vaccines. They're not purifying water. They're not providing health care. You can get angry at those groups for "selling out", and I'd be right there with you. But Mojang and Notch make minecraft. That is not an essential good, it's a video game that no one needs and doesn't cost that much.

So he sold out. So what? 1) Don't pretend that you wouldn't have done EXACTLY the same thing in his shoes and 2) It's just minecraft. A good game, to be sure, but just a game at the end of the day.

I'm more interested in Microsoft's decision to do this - Minecraft isn't new, and Mojang have Minecraft and.... nothing else, reallly. Oh, didn't they make some sort of crappy card game that NO ONE talks about anymore? So they've got minecraft and... yeah, pretty much that's it.

Minecraft isn't even that popular anymore - its star is fading. It's no longer part of the zeitgeist. Sure, it's still relatively popular, but let's face it - you're hearing less and less about it as time goes by, aren't you? This purchase would have been sensible 2 years ago, but now? I think Microsoft have spent 2.5 Billion dollars on something that will be far less relevant within the next year or so.

Having that amount of cash presents it's own, new problems re: "sanity". It's like the curse of winning the lottery. Most people's lives completely fall apart after a giant windfall. Here's to hoping Notch hasn't just traded one set of problems for another.

If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately.

That seems like a healthy reaction.

@joshthevaliant: IIRC, #IDARB is integrating into their game design. And so far I haven't seen the #IDARB guys struggle with their sudden internet fame, nor snapping at the endless tweets from their fans and detractors :)

@rirse: Obviously fake. Everyone knows that Notch is a bear, not a duck.

It's cute that Notch thinks he can somehow put the genie back in its bottle, go back to being a struggling game dev who does game jams, and have everyone pretend things are the way before Minecraft. EVERYTHING he touches will have his reputation on it. Everyone will want to play the next thing from Notch, the Minecraft guy. He can't go back to being a struggling artist along with other REAL struggling artists with 2.5 billion dollars in his back pocket. Whether he chooses to live in it or not, the ivory tower is visible to everyone around him.

*Gets on soapbox. Straightens tie. Clears throat.*

PUT THAT SHIT IN A TRUST SON!!!!

*Gets off soapbox*

Seriously, a little planning can make about 95% of those problems go away. Problem is, 95% of lottery winners aren't smart enough to do the planning that makes 95% of their problems go away.

Given the level of abuse Notch has faced over the years, and his self-admitted problems with fame and the weight of expectation, his family history of depression and such, taking the money and running seems like the only sensible thing to do. I don't know how this gets distributed amongst Mojang staff, but either way, Notch gets to do the stuff he actually loves, and not worry about money or Minecraft for the rest of his life. It's a no-brainer.

I can't imagine Microsoft is planning anything too radical with Minecraft, they'll probably just do their best to keep the train rolling. Microsoft seems to make most of its mistakes these days when it's gambling for its survival.

Cash out, never HAVE to do any specific thing ever again, and get out from under the weight of an unintended phenomenon?

HOW DARE HE!!?!?!?! I DIDN'T JOIN THE INTERNET FOR THIS KIND OF CRAP!

Does Microsoft even have Java developers?

I don't think he believes that he can disappear into obscurity, but I think he can go back to doing the day to day activity that he enjoys. He specifically says "I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them." He clearly knows that he'll be attached to Minecraft for the rest of his life.

He can participate in a game jam without going to a place where people are going to accost him. He can program from the comfort of his home. Hell, he doesn't even have to submit the stuff he makes for people to fawn over or ridicule or whatever.

A large portion of this comment thread here is clearly demonstrating why he wants out.

That is brilliant!

@sanj: he was already incredibly rich before the deal, do you really think having even more money is such a difference for him?

I've not been a huge fan of Notch in the past but reading his leaving blog upset me. I hope the dude can find happiness out of this. Oh and Dave Lang's reply is amazing.

It's also SUPER crazy that a Microsoft owned game is on PS3/PSV/PS4 woooaahhh.

I feel this news doesn't affect anyone in any way, except possibly Notch.

Minecraft was something special. It still will be under Microsoft.

I just think he made a mistake. He sold his weird little miracle for money.

Your attitude is literally the reason he wants out.

Typical Microsoft move. Why spend that money making original IP when you can just throw money at an already existing one?

If you ever go into Toys R Us, their Minecraft stuff is fucking insane expensive.
There's so much crap they make money off of.

I know right?!?!

I'm sure if it was about the money, he would have made just as much if not more keeping the rights to himself. Especially if Microsoft's profit projection is true. Sometimes you just don't want constant stress & bullshit in your life, especially if you get a nice little nest egg offered to you to basically go back under the radar & do whatever you want again.