RUMOR: Microsoft in talks to acquire Minecraft

[Moparx]

According to Reuters, Microsoft is rumored to announce the $2.5 billion dollar acquisition on Monday.

[churched]

Yeah I fail to see how MC would be a driver for handset sales. I could see it being an added benefit but most folks are not going to jump handsets because of MC. And the point towards the end of the article, it is better on tablets. It just isn't fun for me to try and play on a phone. I still think it could be a good investment for MS as long as they let the Xbox division control the whole thing rather than the business unit try and make fat stacks off of endorsements and the like. 

[michaelgtrxu1]

I personally kinda hate using small screens to play games like minecraft. It just feels weird to play on a small screen and you don't get the same experience as on a PC IMO. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft do but if they do obtain the game, I just pray that they won't make an absolute mess of it.

[arazz99]

The New York Times has it now as well:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/m...blogs&_r=1

Bloomberg claims that Notch himself is the one trying to sell it off.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-09...maker.html

Wait. I thought Notch left Mojang and minecraft. Or am i just out of the loop?

[Moparx]

He never left Mojang. He just stopped working on Minecraft and does whatever he feels like doing since he is rich.

[churched]

And he can really do whatever he wants when he gets is billion dollar payout 

[michaelgtrxu1]

Kind of a dumb question but does the fact that apparently Microsoft wants minecraft primarily for handset sales mean anything for us PC users or will we be perfectly fine?

[churched]

That is just speculation. Minecraft is gigantic, Microsoft is going to want it built out on every possible. Best case is with all the new leadership they understand how Mojang  works and they let them do snap shots and the like but are required to optimize for Windows 8 and 9. Worst case they chop it up into bits. I am of the opinion the culture o  the gaming side at Microsoft is a lot more receptive to going with the flow. I think they have done a good job with the Halo franchise. 

Now the other side,  I can see some people at Mojang leaving because they got bought out. They will take there fat sack of cash but will leave all the same because they aren't small anymore. Which I think is debatable. They just went accountable to anyone. So we shall see. Maybe Notch can get a little piece now instead of being blamed for stuff he never had anything to do with 

[Moparx]

It is official. Microsoft owns Mojang now
https://mojang.com/2014/09/yes-were-bein...microsoft/

Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft.
It was reassuring to see how many of your opinions mirrored those of the Mojangstas when we heard the news. Change is scary, and this is a big change for all of us. It’s going to be good though. Everything is going to be OK. <3

Please remember that the future of Minecraft and you – the community – are extremely important to everyone involved. If you take one thing away from this post, let it be that.
We can only share so much information right now, but we’ve decided that being as honest as possible is the best approach. We’re still working a lot of this stuff out. Mega-deals are serious business.

Why did you sell Minecraft?
Minecraft has grown from a simple game to a project of monumental significance. Though we’re massively proud of what Minecraft has become, it was never Notch’s intention for it to get this big.
As you might already know, Notch is the creator of Minecraft and the majority shareholder at Mojang. He’s decided that he doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance. Over the past few years he’s made attempts to work on smaller projects, but the pressure of owning Minecraft became too much for him to handle. The only option was to sell Mojang. He’ll continue to do cool stuff though. Don’t worry about that.

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.

Minecraft means many different things to millions of people across the world, and to each and every Mojangsta. We feel that this is the best way for everyone – you guys included – to benefit.

What about the other editions of Minecraft? Will they stop being developed?
There’s no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions of Minecraft to stop. Of course, Microsoft can’t make decisions for other companies or predict the choices that they might make in the future.

We’re extremely proud of all editions and the awesome things you have achieved through playing together.

Is the game going to change? Will we still be able to make videos, mods, awesome builds, and all the cool stuff we’ve created over the past few years?
Minecraft will continue to evolve, just like it has since the start of development. 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.

What about the Mojang staff? What’s happening to you guys?
Though it’s too early to confirm which of us will continue working on Minecraft or other projects, we predict that the vast majority (if not all) Mojangstas will continue to work at Mojang for the time being.
The founders: Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving. We don’t know what they’re planning. It won’t be Minecraft-related but it will probably be cool.

What’s happening to the other Mojang projects, like Scrolls?
We don’t know yet. We’ll share any news as soon as we do.

Will you still be able to tweet about features and interact with the community on a personal level, just like you’ve done over the years?
Yes! That’s not going to change.

How much money was the company bought for?
Microsoft acquired Mojang for a smooth 2.5 BILLION dollars.

[XxMetalheadRFxX]

Definitely a lot more money than I thought the company would actually be worth. That's crazy, lol.