Finally, the rumors were well founded. Mojang has just been bought by Microsoft for a whopping $ 2.5 billion. Yes, two and a half billion, not a penny more, not a penny less, and it is ultimately one of the largest acquisitions ever made by the firm.
By comparison, Microsoft had not spent more than $ 500 million for Hotmail at the time.
Surprising? Not that much. Minecraft is not a title like the others and it has even become a social phenomenon over the years, bringing together millions of gamers worldwide. It is also a business that is strong, with a turnover that reached and exceeded $ 320 million last year.
Out of respect for the players, Markus "Notch" Persson has taken pains to explain its decision in a note posted on his personal blog and on Pastebin .
A note whose contents is somewhat surprising.
Amazing, and touching. He explains that he can no longer cope with the success of its own title. Strange as it may seem, he never had the intention of producing a hit and become famous. Actually, the only thing he wanted was to have fun ... and code. As he says itself, it has nothing of an entrepreneur or a CEO and it is precisely this that led him to distance last year.
But unfortunately not enough and can not stand Notch to be the center of attention of the players. He just wants to be free again, and some form of anonymity.
Looks like another, to live happily, it is better to live in hiding and that is precisely what led him to approach Microsoft to begin negotiations.
And now, what will change? Nobody knows but it would be very surprising that Microsoft is not trying to monetize their investment. When more than two billion dollars is spent, it is generally not to sit idly by then.