Microsoft buys Mojang

It is official, Microsoft just bought Mojang for 2.5 Billion Dollars: https://mojang.com/2014/09/yes-were-being-bought-by-microsoft/

Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft.
It was reassuring to see how many of your opinions mirrored those of
the Mojangstas when we heard the news. Change is scary, and this is a
big change for all of us. It’s going to be good though. Everything is
going to be OK. <3
Please remember that the future of Minecraft and you – the community –
are extremely important to everyone involved. If you take one thing
away from this post, let it be that.
We can only share so much information right now, but we’ve decided
that being as honest as possible is the best approach. We’re still
working a lot of this stuff out. Mega-deals are serious business.
Why did you sell Minecraft?

Minecraft has grown from a simple game to a project of monumental
significance. Though we’re massively proud of what Minecraft has become,
it was never Notch’s intention for it to get this big.
As you might already know, Notch is the creator of Minecraft and the
majority shareholder at Mojang. He’s decided that he doesn’t want the
responsibility of owning a company of such global significance. Over the
past few years he’s made attempts to work on smaller projects, but the
pressure of owning Minecraft became too much for him to handle. The only
option was to sell Mojang. He’ll continue to do cool stuff though.
Don’t worry about that.
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.
Minecraft means many different things to millions of people across
the world, and to each and every Mojangsta. We feel that this is the
best way for everyone – you guys included – to benefit.
What about the other editions of Minecraft? Will they stop being developed?

There’s no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac,
Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions of
Minecraft to stop. Of course, Microsoft can’t make decisions for other
companies or predict the choices that they might make in the future.
We’re extremely proud of all editions and the awesome things you have achieved through playing together.
Is the game going to change? Will we still be able to make videos,
mods, awesome builds, and all the cool stuff we’ve created over the
past few years?

Minecraft will continue to evolve, just like it has since the start of
development. We don’t know specific plans for Minecraft’s future yet,
but we do know that everyone involved wants the community to grow and
become even more amazing than it’s ever been. Stopping players making
cool stuff is not in anyone’s interests.
What about the Mojang staff? What’s happening to you guys?

Though it’s too early to confirm which of us will continue working on
Minecraft or other projects, we predict that the vast majority (if not
all) Mojangstas will continue to work at Mojang for the time being.
The founders: Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving. We don’t know what
they’re planning. It won’t be Minecraft-related but it will probably be
cool.
What’s happening to the other Mojang projects, like Scrolls?

We don’t know yet. We’ll share any news as soon as we do.
Will you still be able to tweet about features and interact with
the community on a personal level, just like you’ve done over the years?

Yes! That’s not going to change.
How much money was the company bought for?

Microsoft acquired Mojang for a smooth 2.5 BILLION dollars.
Thanks for reading everybody.

Here is the official press release from Microsoft: Homepage - Source

REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 15, 2014 —
Microsoft Corp. today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire
Mojang, the celebrated Stockholm-based game developer, and the company’s
iconic “Minecraft” franchise.
The Mojang team will join Microsoft Studios, which includes the
studios behind global blockbuster franchises “Halo,” “Forza,” “Fable”
and more. Microsoft’s 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.
Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire Mojang for
$2.5 billion. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in FY15
on a GAAP basis. Subject to customary closing conditions and any
regulatory review, the acquisition is expected to close in late 2014.
Available across multiple platforms, “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. “Minecraft” is one of
the top PC games of all time, the most popular online game on Xbox, and
the top paid app for iOS and Android in the US. The “Minecraft”
community is among the most active and passionate in the industry, with
more than 2 billion hours played on Xbox 360 alone in the past two
years. Minecraft fans are loyal, with nearly 90 percent of paid
customers on the PC having signed in within the past 12 months.
“Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to
tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year,” said Satya
Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “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.”
“The ‘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,’” said Carl Manneh, CEO, Mojang. “As the founders move on to
start new projects, we believe the high level of creativity from the
community will continue the game’s success far into the future.”
Microsoft plans to continue to make “Minecraft” available across all
the platforms on which it is available today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and
PlayStation.
“‘Minecraft’ is one of the most popular franchises of all time,” said
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox. “We are going to maintain ‘Minecraft’ and
its community in all the ways people love today, with a commitment to
nurture and grow it long into the future.”
More details will be available upon the acquisition closing.

And a blog post from the head of XBox about the feature of Minecraft within Microsoft (very intersting read), also states that Minecon will continue next year: Minecraft to Join Microsoft - Xbox Wire

Today is an incredibly exciting day for our team as Mojang and the Minecraft franchise join Microsoft. Minecraft
is one of the most popular video games of all time, with more than 100
million downloads, on PC alone, from players since its launch in 2009.
Minecraft inspires millions to create together, connects people across
the globe, and is a community that is among the most active and
passionate in the world.

Our relationship with Mojang began when
we initially talked to the team about bringing Minecraft to the console.
Minecraft quickly became the top online game on Xbox Live, with over
two billion hours played on Xbox 360 in the last two years. That working
relationship set the ground work for other opportunities. We’ve long
seen the incredible potential of Minecraft.

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. That
is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms
– including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC.

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. Our investments in cloud, Xbox Live and mobile technology will
enable players to benefit from richer and faster worlds, more powerful
development tools, and more opportunities to connect with the Minecraft
community.

We’re excited to confirm that
MINECON will continue next year. We’ll look to create even more ways for
the vibrant community of YouTuber’s, innovators, bloggers and players
to connect with each other – both in person and online. We will have
much more to share in the coming months.

The Minecraft team’s unique
vision, creative energy and innovative mindset make them a perfect fit
alongside our other global studios. Microsoft Studios includes 343
Industries, Turn 10 Studios, and Lionhead Studios just to name a few.
These industry-leading game studios within Microsoft that have had great
success with beloved games and massively popular franchises like Halo,
Forza, and Fable. We’re excited to welcome Mojang to the Microsoft
family and we are thrilled to support the success and longevity of
Minecraft for years to come.

Phil

@XboxP3

Notch’s reason for leaving mojang and selling to Microsoft: http://notch.net/2014/09/im-leaving-mojang/

I don’t see myself as a real game developer. I make games because
it’s fun, and because I love games and I love to program, but I don’t
make games with the intention of them becoming huge hits, and I don’t
try to change the world. Minecraft certainly became a huge hit, and
people are telling me it’s changed games. I never meant for it to do
either. It’s certainly flattering, and to gradually get thrust into some
kind of public spotlight is interesting.
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’ve had so much fun with work. I
wasn’t exactly sure how I fit into Mojang where people did actual work,
but since people said I was important for the culture, I stayed.
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’t understand. I tweeted this in frustration. Later on, I watched the This is Phil Fish
video on YouTube and started to realize I didn’t have the connection to
my fans I thought I had. 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. I’m not an
entrepreneur. I’m not a CEO. I’m a nerdy computer programmer who likes
to have opinions on Twitter.
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’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.
I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it
has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible
for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a
much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that
will never change.
It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.

What will this mean for Sponge? What do you guys think about this? Good or bad?

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NOOOOOOOOO ;_;

Why you do this Mojang >_<

3 Likes

Well… I’m not sure how I feel about this.

We propably dont get any more mcp ._. > no forge. Minecraftcpw is deleting his account.

Oh woah, interesting start to my day…

1 Like

“The only option was to sell Mojang.” Well there’s Mojangs logic in one sentence, what a bunch of crap.

6 Likes

This is going to put modding on really low priority for me…

Sorry but I’m out of the Minecraft community and helping with the Sponge project.

Good luck, Mcat.

While I’m not too fond of Microsoft acquiring Mojang, I hold on to a glimmer of hope due to this paragraph:

Of course, we can’t be sure of anything at this point, not until we get an official message from Microsoft. I’ll be holding my breath :slight_smile:

5 Likes

Lets hope it doesn’t change ._. But i think MS is not that stupid to ruin this all.

I hope for the moment that mcp and forge don’t quit

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Basically how I look at it. ._.

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this is so sad what going on to the minecraft community

I updated the post with two official news and statements from Microsoft.

The first is the offcial (boring) press release: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2014/sept14/09-15news.aspx
And the second one a statement from the head of the XBox team about the feature of minecraft within microsoft: http://news.xbox.com/2014/09/games-minecraft-to-join-Microsoft

1 Like

This, too, seems positive (taken from the Xbox News link above):

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. That is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms – including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC.

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. Our investments in cloud, Xbox Live and mobile technology will enable players to benefit from richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools, and more opportunities to connect with the Minecraft community.

Although they didn’t mention modding, I’m tentatively hopeful that “We respect the brand and independent spirit that has made Minecraft great (…)” is also with regards to this.

2 Likes

I’m honestly not sure what to think of this.

On the one hand, this could do wonderous things for Minecraft. Microsoft may embrace the community with open arms, hire more developers to help the game along, etc.

Or they could absolutely ruin the game, its community, and leave a trail of destruction in its wake.

I don’t really care.
At least MS has more experience then the current owners of Mojang.
(Also hoping for some good PR staff)

Lets hope they don’t this, otherwise we have a problem and no Minecraft ._.

Current owners is kinda wrong. Let’s say Notch :wink:

Thank god! Jeb is still there and lead developer of Minecraft! https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/511513294612738048

  • Morph

http://t.co/XwZgP7wJag

— Markus Persson (@notch) September 15, 2014

Well, that killed http://t.co/1UX1PLIqyy, so here's a pastebin: http://t.co/AalnyHKSdx

— Markus Persson (@notch) September 15, 2014
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I hope this doesn’t affect the course of the Sponge project and Minecraft modding in general, but to be honest I have no idea what direction Microsoft plans to take Mojang and Minecraft. I just hope there are enough people at Microsoft that understand the importance of modding to the Minecraft community, especially open source and free mods. If Microsoft implements a plugin store or ‘developers licence’ or even worse a a licensing fee to run a server, I think that would kill Minecraft pretty quickly and it would mean less creative people making awesome plugins and mods, and less people learning more about programming. Bukkit is the reason I started learning Java, I have used other programming languages but I wouldn’t have learn Java if it wasn’t for Bukkit and I look forward to making plugins for Sponge.
I’m still skeptical as I believe, well hope, that Microsoft with their experience will be able to give the Minecraft team the resources and project leadership to get the mod api finished in a reasonable time frame while continue to improve Minecraft.
I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see. I don’t feel this should stop the development on Sponge, the Sponge project should continue unless Microsoft sends a DMCA notice or something similar. If that happens I’m going to completely give up on Minecraft.

2 Likes