Microsoft’s purchase of Minecraft developer Mojang has been officially completed.
The news came courtesy of Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer on Twitter.
Spencer tweeted:
“It’s official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family. We’re excited for the possibilities ahead with the Minecraft community”.
Microsoft first announced its plans to buy Mojang back in September, following rumours that discussions had been occurring between the two companies.
It was then revealed that Microsoft had purchased Mojang for $2.5 billion (£1.5 billion), with Microsoft expecting to break even on the investment by June 2015.
“Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella when the acquisition was first announced,
“Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft.”
Now that the acquisition is complete, Mojang founders Markus ‘Notch’ Persson, Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser are leaving the company.
When the acquisition was announced, Persson said he was leaving the company for his “sanity”.
“Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of oyu, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time and that will never change,” he said in an interview with IGN talking about the Minecraft community.
“It’s not about the money it’s about my sanity”.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
