Minecraft and Mojang are now properties of Microsoft, so with Markus Persson now a billionaire after taking home around $1.75 billion of the $2.5 billion Mojang was sold for, we wondered what developers from within the gaming industry are thinking when it comes to one of the largest acquisitions in the history of gaming.
This is major news for the gaming community, and we expect it to be talked about for months to come, and even years if Microsoft manages to mess it up, or keep the momentum going. Many view Minecraft as one of the most influential video games ever, which could be surprising to some since the game itself doesn't look like much on the surface.
The gaming community is talking a lot about this deal right now, and the majority of the chatter is being thrown around on Twitter. Developers are letting their voices be heard, and from what we can tell, everyone seems quite positive about the deal, and why not? The Microsoft and Mojang deal could open the doors for other companies to come in and invest heavily.
Several employees of Mojang took to Twitter to talk about the deal, though some of them seem more concerned about what will happen now that they've become employees of Microsoft.
Erik Broes (Minecraft developer): Everyone is still here. We have to see what Microsoft brings to the table. Talks with them soon I hope?
Nathan Adams (Minecraft developer): Lots of people asking what this means for me personally. Thank you all for your concern <3 I will remain at Mojang for now & see how it goes.
Mans Olson (designer on Mojang's new game, Scrolls): It seems I'm about to be a Microsoft employee. Not sure what'll happen, and we don't have all the information.
Employees have all the reasons to be concerned because Microsoft doesn't have a good track record when it comes down to managing studios acquired in the past. RARE is a prime example of a good studio gone almost totally to the dogs under Microsoft's watch.
Other developers seem to believe that the reason why Persson sold Mojang to Microsoft has a lot to do with all the negativity and abuse that game designers have to face on a regular basis from overly attached fans.
Robert Boyd (Zeboyd Games designer): Can't help but think that Notch selling Mojang is due to the Internet hate machine. Guy just got tired of being the target of negativity.
Whatever the case, Markus Persson is now a filthy rich man and at this point in his life might not care much about what people have to say about him.
