Two Point Five Billion Dollars. That’s how much Microsoft just spent to acquire Mojang, the developer behind the wildly popular Minecraft. To put that in perspective, Disney paid $4.64 billion for Marvel in 2009 and $4.05 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012. So the Minecraft community carries the same value as 19,000 characters from the Marvel multiverse or 60% of the entire Star Wars canon. That is unbelievable.
As expected, Markus “Notch” Persson will leave Mojang after the acquisition is complete to work on new projects. And, in a surprising move, Microsoft has confirmed that Minecraft will not become a PC/Xbox exclusive. The game will continue to be available on mobile devices, the PS3, the PS4, and the Vita.
“Minecraft is one of the most popular franchises of all time,” said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox. “We are going to maintain Minecraft and its community in all the ways people love today, with a commitment to nurture and grow it long into the future.”
To date, more than 50 million copies of Minecraft have been sold across all platforms, making it one of the best-selling games of all time.
