Microsoft has confirmed that it is buying Mojang – the company behind Minecraft – for $2.5 billion big ones.<\/p>\n
The software giant made the announcement via a press release<\/a> today, 15 September 2014. According to the statement, the Mojang team will join Microsoft Studios.<\/p>\n “Microsoft\u2019s investments in cloud and mobile technologies will enable Minecraft players to benefit from richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools, and more opportunities to connect across the Minecraft community,” the company said.<\/p>\n The buyout is set to be completed before the end of 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d said Carl Manneh, CEO, Mojang.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the founders move on to start new projects, we believe the high level of creativity from the community will continue the game\u2019s success far into the future.\u201d (Read: Notch is leaving.)<\/p>\n Microsoft said it plans to continue to make Minecraft available across all platforms, including PC, iOS, Android, Xbox, and PlayStation.<\/p>\n Notch took the time to say goodbye to his fans through this “goodbye letter”.<\/p>\n I\u2019m leaving Mojang I don\u2019t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it\u2019s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don\u2019t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don\u2019t try to change the world. Minecraft certainly became a huge hit, and people are telling me it\u2019s changed games. I never meant for it to do either. It\u2019s certainly flattering, and to gradually get thrust into some kind of public spotlight is interesting.<\/p>\n A relatively long time ago, I decided to step down from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to take over leading it, and I wanted to try to do new things. At first, I failed by trying to make something big again, but since I decided to just stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, I\u2019ve had so much fun with work. I wasn\u2019t exactly sure how I fit into Mojang where people did actual work, but since people said I was important for the culture, I stayed.<\/p>\n I was at home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet exploded with hate against me over some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn\u2019t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and started to realize I didn\u2019t have the connection to my fans I thought I had. I\u2019ve become a symbol. I don\u2019t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don\u2019t understand, that I don\u2019t want to work on, that keeps coming back to me. I\u2019m not an entrepreneur. I\u2019m not a CEO. I\u2019m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter.<\/p>\n As soon as this deal is finalized, I will leave Mojang and go back to doing Ludum Dares and small web experiments. If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I\u2019ll probably abandon it immediately.<\/p>\n Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don\u2019t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What do you predict will happen to Minecraft once Microsoft takes control? Let us know in the comments and forum.<\/p>\n GTA 5 release date for PC, PS4, Xbox One<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor pre-order pricing, PC requirements<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSeptember 15th, 2014<\/p>\nMore gaming news<\/h3>\n