14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has confirmed what has been rumored heavily in recent days: it's purchased Mojang, the developer and owner of the Minecraft project, for $2.5 billion (€1.9 billion).
Minecraft is a true global phenomenon, starting first as a small alpha project on the PC platform and quickly growing to be a behemoth beyond the imagination of its creator, Markus "Notch" Persson.
After the initial success, he formed Mojang, a special development studio that could continue updating the experience on PC, and partnered with 4J Studios to bring Minecraft to all sorts of other platforms, starting with the Xbox 360 and moving onto the PS3, PS4, Xbox One, or even on smartphones and tablets via Minecraft: Pocket Edition for Android and iOS.
Microsoft brings the Mojang team and Minecraft project into its family
Now, after quite a few surprising rumors in the last week, Microsoft has made the official announcement that it's purchasing Mojang and its Minecraft franchise for a whopping $2.5 billion (around €1.9 billion).
The deal has officially been signed, after quite a lot of negotiation on behalf of Persson and his Mojang staff, and Microsoft is quite thrilled to now own Minecraft and continue developing it in brand new ways.
"At Microsoft, we believe in the power of content to unite people. Minecraft adds diversity to our game portfolio and helps us reach new gamers across multiple platforms. Gaming is the top activity across devices and we see great potential to continue to grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise," Microsoft Xbox boss Phil Spencer says in an official statement.
This doesn't mean Minecraft is getting abandoned on other platforms
Spencer has quickly emphasized that Microsoft has no plans to suspend or cancel the game's development on all the other platforms it doesn't own. As such, fans should expect the same amount of love to be spread across PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, iOS, or Android.
"The Minecraft community is passionate and diverse, ranging across all ages and demographics. 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."
Expect Minecraft to receive more features thanks to Microsoft
What's more, the company pledges to improve Minecraft by using its experience with cloud systems, with the Xbox Live online service, and with its mobile technology.
Minecon will also take place next year, and Microsoft is keen on continuing to celebrate the thriving community of players.
Check out a video message from Spencer about the Mojang acquisition below.
