Microsoft may buy Minecraft developer for $2 billion. Microsoft is nearing a deal to buy Mojang AB, the Swedish developer of the popular game Minecraft. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal is valued at over $ 2 billion, and may be concluded in the coming days.
Microsoft and Mojang AB refused to give any comments on this topic. Interestingly, the earlier the founder of Mojang AB Markus Persson avoided venture capital investments. In addition, he criticized the operating system Windows 8, because it is not suitable for indie games.
Minecraft is a computer game in the genre of open-world sandbox and elements of survival. The game is reminiscent of Lego designer in the virtual world, has received great popularity. Since its launch in 2009, Minecraft has sold over 50 million copies of the game. Last year, Mojang AB earned $ 100 million profit on sales.
WSJ argues that the purchase of Minecraft can revive business Xbox, although the game has long been available for this platform.
Nobody thought that Mojang AB will change the owner. The development team has earned well on Minecraft, and the head of the company was planning to invest profits from the sales of the game in new projects. Persons critical of the large corporations. He even canceled a planned version of Minecraft for Oculus Rift after he learned about the deal between Oculus VR and Facebook .
According to Bloomberg, the negotiations between the two companies began a few months ago, when a person turned to Microsoft to explore the possibility of selling the company. Microsoft believes that it can increase the profitability of Minecraft by expanding its base of players and signing new licensing agreements for the sale of goods associated with the game.
