Microsoft to buy Swedish Minecraft makers
Oliver Gee - [email protected]
Published: 15 Sep, 2014 CET.
Updated: Mon 15 Sep 2014 15:22 CET
UPDATED: Microsoft announced on Monday that it was buying Swedish company Mojang, which was behind the hit game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (17.9 billion kronor).
"Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft," read an official statement from Mojang on Monday. The Swedish company added that Minecraft had grown from "a simple game" to "a project of monumental significance". The game's creator Markus Persson, also known as Notch in the gaming community, explained that he wasn't into game-making for the fame. "I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world," he wrote in a statement. "Ive become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand," he added. "I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter." 
Markus Persson. Photo: TT Persson added that he plans to go back to conducting small web experiments. "If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately," he wrote, adding that the sale wasn't about the money, rather about his sanity. Most of the Mojang staff will continue to work under Microsoft's ownership. "Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year," Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said in a statement. "Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about." Minecraft has sold some 50 million copies around the world since its creation in 2009, and hasn't slowed down. Last year a Stockholm school even made the game mandatory learning. 
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"Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft," read an official statement from Mojang on Monday.
The Swedish company added that Minecraft had grown from "a simple game" to "a project of monumental significance".
The game's creator Markus Persson, also known as Notch in the gaming community, explained that he wasn't into game-making for the fame.
"I don’t make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t try to change the world," he wrote in a statement.
"Ive become a symbol. I don’t want to be a symbol, responsible for something huge that I don’t understand," he added. "I’m not an entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter."
Markus Persson. Photo: TT
Persson added that he plans to go back to conducting small web experiments.
"If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I’ll probably abandon it immediately," he wrote, adding that the sale wasn't about the money, rather about his sanity.
Most of the Mojang staff will continue to work under Microsoft's ownership.
"Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year," Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said in a statement.
"Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about."
Minecraft has sold some 50 million copies around the world since its creation in 2009, and hasn't slowed down. Last year a Stockholm school even made the game mandatory learning.
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