Report: Microsoft in talks to buy Minecraft studio for $2 billion

Could you be playing your favorite open-world game exclusively on Microsoft's platforms?

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Minecraft just made the jump to current-gen consoles, but its original creator, Mojang, may be jumping onto the Microsoft bandwagon, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

The report comes from a source with knowledge of the matter, who claims a deal could be reached between Mojang and Microsoft as early as this week and is valued at over $2 billion.

If this report turns out to be true, this would certainly be a feather in Microsoft’s cap as Mojang has been steadily gaining momentum with Minecraft. With each update and new console release, more and more players are become addicted to the title, and keeping it exclusively on Microsoft’s platforms could strike a huge blow to its competition.

It would also be quite a surprise considering Mojang’s Markus Persson has publicly shunned outside investments and has also railed against big corporations, Microsoft included.

Both Mojang’s CEO and a Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on this report.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    September 9, 2014 4:50 PM

    Daniel Perez posted a new article, Report: Microsoft in talks to buy Minecraft studio for $2 billion.

    Could you be playing your favorite open-world game exclusively on Microsoft's platforms?

    • reply
      September 9, 2014 7:42 PM

      Oh crap.....

    • P90 legacy 10 years
      reply
      September 10, 2014 12:25 AM

      Oh god, no.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 12:28 AM

      So all it takes is develop a halfassed game in Java, milk it till the tits fall off and get 2b for it?

      Gotta try it sometime.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 1:04 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 1:27 AM

      It sounds like a great way to go make a good game sell out get super rich and stop giving a fuck.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 1:32 AM

      On the bright side, Notch could become a publisher, or independently finance games he finds interesting.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 2:47 AM

      I can't imagine they'd pull it off all the platforms its currently on, I doubt Minecraft is a system seller.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 3:14 AM

      UPDATE 10/9/14 9.55am: Minecraft creator Markkus "Notch" Persson instigated talks with Microsoft to sell developer Mojang, a new source has claimed, and will leave the company for good when the deal is complete.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 4:00 AM

      "It would also be quite a surprise considering Mojang’s Markus Persson has publicly shunned outside investments and has also railed against big corporations, Microsoft included."

      Perhaps this has something to do with it?

      https://twitter.com/notch/status/478766808841732096

      Apparently posted around the same time talks with MS began.

      My guess:

      Marcus consider Minecraft as "DONE". He does not work on it anymore. It will be free to play forever for those that bought it. Every little thing he tries to do to "protect" Minecraft is met with hostility/smearing/anger.

      Now he wants "out". He gets a bunch of cash and can do whatever he wants and does not have to worry about Minecraft anymore.


    • reply
      September 10, 2014 4:53 AM

      My heart goes out to all the quality developers who didn't get 2 bil...or even enough to survive. This is a bad reflection on society and what people think has value imo. I would be livid if I were an msft investor right now.

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      September 10, 2014 5:06 AM

      ok we've reached the bubble

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      September 10, 2014 6:08 AM

      H0LY CRAP, that's a lot of money.

      • reply
        September 10, 2014 8:19 AM

        Think of the things Duke could buy for a dollar O_O

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 6:10 AM

      Smart move by Microsoft. They may be able to sell their hardware to parents of minecraft addicted young children.

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 6:23 AM

      Sounds dumb to me for both sides. notch already has money hats, and they're a one hit wonder so WTF is the point for MS? Could they really ever recoup that much cash, even with Minecraft's popularity? Also it's a small team so it's not like they'd be buying much talent.

      Jesus, and I thought their Yammer purchase was idiotic.

      • reply
        September 10, 2014 6:42 AM

        Well, Microsoft is mainly buying the rights, so I'm sure they have some half-baked idea about putting out a Minecraft 2 and building some kind of forever-brand out of it. But I'm sure the end result is that they'll just overcomplicate the game mechanics and change the style to something nearly unrecognizable, and nobody will want to play it.

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        September 10, 2014 7:07 AM

        [deleted]

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          September 10, 2014 7:10 AM

          most often in a case like this it isn't 'actual' money that is transferred but an obscure mix of cash/stocks/options etc. that you are not entitled to sell for a set time. Anyway, it's still a shitload of 'money'.

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      September 10, 2014 6:50 AM

      I think Microsoft is way off on this one. Part of Minecraft's appeal is in the story of its development, its fairly unique (at the time) distribution model, and its core simplicity. Minecraft as a brand would lose a substantial amount of social cache just by being driven off the lot by a large company like Microsoft, and anything that Microsoft subsequently might do with the brand would only make it worse.

      Still, it's kind of amusing that Microsoft, a company that in the games arena focuses on producing AAA titles exclusive to its own console (or online service for the PC titles), is interested in paying out such a huge amount for a brand that came to life as a pixelated, PC-only, originally free-to-download game that was made by one dude.

      Minecraft should be a lesson in the commercial possibilities of creative freedom and the power of a single talented individual with a good idea. For a tiny fraction of the 2 billion, they could give some of their own developers the time and resources to realize their own creative goals. That would be worth the investment more than a (very late) acquisition of a product that pulled it off.

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      September 10, 2014 8:56 AM

      https://twitter.com/notch/status/281139739304800256

      Markus Persson
      ‏@notch
      Anyway, my price is two billion dollars. Give me two billion dollars, and I'll endorse your crap.
      12:51 PM - 18 Dec 2012

      • reply
        September 10, 2014 9:35 AM

        This guy is the complete epitome of a neckbeard, love it!

    • reply
      September 10, 2014 11:06 AM

      [deleted]

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