Microsoft Reveals $2.5 Billion Acquisition of Mojang
ORIGINAL STORY: Minecraft Pocket Edition has become one of the biggest games on Android and iOS, taking the top paid spots on each platform. What you don’t see is Minecraft Pocket Edition on Windows Phone. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Microsoft has set its sights on Minecraft developer Mojang: to provide the resources in getting Minecraft PE to the Windows Phone platform.
According to an unnamed source, Microsoft plans to reveal its $2.5 billion deal to purchase Mojang on Monday. Dave Bisceglia, Chief Executive of independent game studio Tap Lab, believes the acquisition would mean that Microsoft could push to provide something unique to the Minecraft PE players that will drive Windows Phone sales.
“It seems like Microsoft is looking at Mojang and Minecraft as a way to tap into this enormous cultural phenomenon," he told Reuters.
Minecraft creator and Mojang co-founder Markus Persson currently doesn’t have any plans to bring the game to Windows Phone because of the platform’s small piece of the mobile pie (2.5 percent); he commented that BlackBerry and Symbian users have more users than Windows Phone. There’s speculation that he will leave Mojang if the company decides to accept Microsoft’s buyout offer.
Meanwhile, Minecraft fans are striking out at Persson and Mojang regarding the unannounced deal. “You gave us your word you wouldn't sell out to big name companies. Please, Notch, don't let us Minecrafters down,” one fan said via Twitter.
A report by the Huffington Post states that fans are worried about handing the Minecraft reins over to Microsoft. They fear that the block-building game will become a Microsoft exclusive, which honestly would be rather silly. If anything, the company would throw in exclusive features that could only be acquired through the Xbox consoles and Windows Phone.
Players are also worried that Microsoft may eliminate modding with Minecraft, and that future upgrades to the game would be “less compelling” and “less user-friendly” because Mojang didn’t create the upgrades on its own. However, if the Microsoft/Mojang deal goes gold, there’s a good chance Microsoft may leave the game alone. Why fix a game that’s not broken?
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If anything, a Mojang buyout means that the studio has the resources to stay on the Minecraft tracks. This stash of cash may also lead to the release of Minecraft PE on Windows Phone and Windows 8.1. Of course, this is all mere rumor and speculation until Monday if sources are correct and the two parties announce the deal.
UPDATE: As expected, Microsoft revealed its acquisition of Mojang for $2.5 billion. The deal is expected to close before the end of 2014. "Microsoft plans to continue to make Minecraft available across all the platforms on which it is available today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and PlayStation," the press release said.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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junkeymonkey ''Minecraft fans are striking out at Persson and Mojang regarding the unannounced deal. “You gave us your word you wouldn't sell out to big name companies''Reply
money talks and there good word walks -
InvalidError 2.5G$ would be difficult to turn down. I have a hard time imagining how such a simple game could be worth anywhere near that much.Reply -
bourgeoisdude I'm usually the one who sticks up for Microsoft, but I'm not sure how anyone this planet outside of those receiving a piece of the $2.5 billion pie believes this is a good idea, for Microsoft or consumers (ultimately even for Mojang). Even if there is some super-secret project underway that will be MS exclusive, some Project Spark integration, or other such things--no I still can't figure out what is going on.Reply -
someguynamedmatt ...as much as a lot of people don't want their favorite game to be bought out by another company, we're talking about a LOT of money here. I'd rather have it be Microsoft than a lot of other people, and you can't tell me you'd turn down two and a half billion dollars if it was offered to you for a game which you'd put probably six years or so into - that's almost a $420M annual income.Reply -
Afrospinach I am ambivalent. On the one hand I kind of think Mojang's relevance is done and dusted for the most part, on the other I can't really see how MS is going to do anything productive with MC.Reply
If I were them I would just take the money. -
FrodoSwaggins 2.5 billion for a one hit wonder? Notch was really lucky with Minecraft, and the game itself was a copy of an already existing game. Not to mention that it was poorly optimized, and he just gave up and never bothered trying to fix it after making monumental amounts of cash.Reply -
ezorb How about a windows native client with hardware rendering and crazy long view distances so i can uninstall the java cancer from my computerReply