Mojang AB, a Swedish video game developer, maker of legendary Minecraft, has changed the owner. Microsoft has agreed to buy the company for $2.5 billion. “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”, the developers said. It is interesting to note that the news came shortly after Mojang CEO Markus Persson, a game designer and programmer, said he does not want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance.
"I've become a symbol. I don't want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don't understand, that I don't want to work on, that keeps coming back to me," he said. In addition, as soon as the deal is finalized, Persson and two other co-founders Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser will leave the company. A great number of the game’s fans are on the lookout for a worthy continuation of the project. Microsoft hastened to calm down the fans saying that the rest of the team will go on developing the project at Microsoft Studios.
“Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Minecraft is one of the most popular video games in history, with more than 100 million downloads, on PC alone, by players since its launch in 2009.