This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/minecraft-bought-by-microsoft-for-25bn-as-creator-notch--says-im-not-a-symbol-9733826.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Minecraft studio Mojang bought by Microsoft for $2.5bn as 'Notch' says 'I'm not a symbol' | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Microsoft has announced that it has purchased Mojang, the Swedish studio behind the popular game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (£1.5bn). | Microsoft has announced that it has purchased Mojang, the Swedish studio behind the popular game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion (£1.5bn). |
| The best-selling title, which has been downloaded more than 100 million times since its launch in 2009, brought Mojang more than $100 million in profit last year and is one of the most popular games of all time. | The best-selling title, which has been downloaded more than 100 million times since its launch in 2009, brought Mojang more than $100 million in profit last year and is one of the most popular games of all time. |
| The game was created by indie developer Markus “Notch” Persson, who has previously criticized Microsoft for trying to “ruin the PC as an open platform” with their most recent operating system Windows 8. | The game was created by indie developer Markus “Notch” Persson, who has previously criticized Microsoft for trying to “ruin the PC as an open platform” with their most recent operating system Windows 8. |
| Mr Persson, who has also criticized companies such as Electronic Arts and Facebook, said he’d “rather have Minecraft not run on Win 8 at all than to play along,” although he has previously tweeted: “Hey, Microsoft! You might be a big and scary American company that likes secrets and meetings and such, but I love working with you!” | Mr Persson, who has also criticized companies such as Electronic Arts and Facebook, said he’d “rather have Minecraft not run on Win 8 at all than to play along,” although he has previously tweeted: “Hey, Microsoft! You might be a big and scary American company that likes secrets and meetings and such, but I love working with you!” |
| In a statement published on Mojang’s site, the company: “Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft,” adding that Minecraft has “grown from a simple game to a project of monumental significance” and that Mr Persson “doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance.” | In a statement published on Mojang’s site, the company: “Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft,” adding that Minecraft has “grown from a simple game to a project of monumental significance” and that Mr Persson “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.” | “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.” |
| In his own statement on the deal, Mr Persson said: “I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that,” adding “It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.” | In his own statement on the deal, Mr Persson said: “I’m aware this goes against a lot of what I’ve said in public. I have no good response to that,” adding “It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.” |
| "Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them," wrote the game developer. | "Considering the public image of me already is a bit skewed, I don’t expect to get away from negative comments by doing this, but at least now I won’t feel a responsibility to read them," wrote the game developer. |
| "I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big." | "I love you. All of you. Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big." |