When it was announced Microsoft had acquired Minecraft and its developer Mojang for $2.5 billion last year, the entire world was taken by surprise. But maybe it shouldn't have been surprising. In fact, the entire deal between Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson came about because of one very public tweet.
The Forbes cover story has the full tale, but it all boils down to Persson being unhappy with Minecraft's community. He took to Twitter to vent his frustrations, which led to the following tweet.
Anyone want to buy my share of Mojang so I can move on with my life? Getting hate for trying to do the right thing is not my gig.
— Markus Persson (@notch) June 17, 2014
His tweet spawned a number of humorous responses as people replied they "had $20 around somewhere" or others who told Persson they would glady take Minecraft off his hands. But Persson's tweet wasn't a joke, at least, not all of it. According to Forbes, minutes after the tweet went live Mojang CEO Carl Manneh received a call from a Microsoft executive asking if Persson was seriously considering selling his share of the company. Microsoft wasn't the only interested party either -- Forbes says Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts also bid for control of Minecraft's future, but that talks with EA in particular fell apart due to Persson not being a fan of EA's policies.
The rest, as they say, is history. A mere three months after Persson sent his tweet, he had sold his share of the company to Microsoft and changed the gaming landscape forever. So what is Persson doing with his new found wealth? Some publications have taken a piece from the Forbes story and suggest Persson is throwing his fortune away by racking up massive bills at Swedish nightclubs. Persson denies the claims and once again took to Twitter to express his frustration.
Swedish newspapers copy and paste from the Forbes thing, with the headline "I'm dedicated to partying my money away". Oh lordy. — Markus Persson (@notch) March 4, 2015
Also, and this sounds like bragging, but I'd have to party REALLY DUCKING HARD to keep up with the interest, so it's not a viable option.
— Markus Persson (@notch) March 4, 2015
No doubt Persson will continue to express himself on Twitter. He has more than 2 million followers on the social media platform.
Photo: Official GDC | Flickr
