It's a new boss, a change in landlord, the next president or a gigantic corporation buying out a beloved indie studio and its highly successful video game. Gamers had little to no say in Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang and Minecraft, but fans of the sandbox, block-building video game now have to play in territory controlled by the makers of Windows and Xbox.
Microsoft paid $2.5 billion to acquire indie studio Mojang and Minecraft, an open-world game that has attracted more than 100 million users and converted roughly 14.3 percent of its user base to premium account holders.
Hardcore and casual gamers alike fell in love with the game and its structure, which is as simple or as complex as the individual's idea of what it should be. Block by block, Minecraft's survival players can build night forts to ward off things that go bump in the night or, in either of the game's multiplayer modes, builders can join forces to construct Lego-like architectural feats that take weeks or months to complete.
While there's virtually no evidence Microsoft will call all Minecraft players out of their cubicles and into a meeting to lay new ground rules, the sandbox game is so dear to so many that there's an inevitable fear a corporation dedicated to its mobile devices and gaming console could negatively impact the multiplatform game. Those are the fears and here are the reasons Minecraft and Mojang are in good hands:
Minecraft was getting too big for its creator
"There are only a handful of potential buyers with the resources to grow Minecraft on a scale that it deserves," says Mojang. "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."
It's in Microsoft's best interest to keep the Minecraft community happy
"Minecraft will continue to evolve, just like it has since the start of development," says Mojang. "We don't know specific plans for Minecraft's future yet, but we do know that everyone involved wants the community to grow and become even more amazing than it's ever been. Stopping players making cool stuff is not in anyone's interests."
Microsoft's latest strategy is founded on cross-platform support
The Rise of the Tomb Raider's Xbox One exclusivity goes against the strategy of openness Microsoft CEO Satya Nadelle has laid out. But unlike the Xbox division's purchase of exclusive time with Square Enix's next Tomb Raider game, Microsoft now owns Minecraft.
Microsoft has the power and right to hoard the next iteration of Minecraft on Xbox and Windows platforms. But that strategy would gain it a few new Xbox one and Windows sales while costing it revenue from rivals Apple, Google and Sony.
Futhermore, Microsoft has recently proven that it's willing to share items it actually owns, as it has released its prized Office suite to competitors iOS and Android.
