After rumours last week about a possible acquisition of Mojang by Microsoft, the firms today confirmed the rumours announcing Microsoft has spent $2.5 billion to Mojang.
Mojang, the Stockholm-based game developer behind the “Minecraft” brand will join Microsoft Studios to build on names like “Halo,” “Forza,” “Fable” and more for both their fans.
“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.”
“Minecraft” is one of the most popular video games in history, and has over 100 million downloads, on PC alone. It’s also one of the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for iOS and Android in the US. The “Minecraft” gamers consist of over 2 billion hours played on Xbox 360 alone in the past two years.
Microsoft is also buying Minecraft’s loyal fans who are nearly 90 percent of paid customers on the PC.
“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.