MICROSOFT HAS CONFIRMED it will buy Mojang, the creator of the popular videogame Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (€1.9 billion).
The deal will see Mojang join Microsoft Studios which has created games like the Halo, Forza and Fable series.
In a statement announcing the move, Mojang said that the deal was completed because of the resources Microsoft can offer it.
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.
In a separate statement, Microsoft said that it will invest in the series to help provide a better experience for players.
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.
While there has been no news relating to the future of the Mojang staff – the company expects that the vast majority (if not all) will continue to work there – the company’s founders, Markus Persson, Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser, are leaving.
Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game where players must gather materials, craft tools and survive. The series has sold more than 50 million copies across all platforms and is the most popular paid game on iOS and Android.
Rumours of a deal between the two companies emerged last week and the deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
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