The scenarios that Microsoft wanted to negotiate the acquisition of Mojang - the Swedish company behind the popular Minecraft game - instead of $ 2,5 billion were verified.
Η Microsoft announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached, pointing out that the team of the Swedish company will join the Microsoft Studios, which are behind popular titles such as Halo, Forza and Fable. As noted in the relevant announcement, its investments Microsoft in the cloud and technologies mobile devices will allow players to "take advantage of richer and faster worlds, stronger development tools, and more opportunities to network with the Minecraft community." The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Available on a range of platforms, Minecraft is one of the most popular games in gaming history, with over 100 million downloads on PC alone since its launch in 2009. According to Microsoft, it's also the most popular Xbox online game and the top paid application for iOS and Android at USA. Its community is extremely active, with over two billion hours played on Xbox 360 alone in the past two years.
"Minecraft is more than just a great franchise game - it's an open-platform platform, driven by a vibrant community that we are very interested in and rich with new opportunities for the community and Microsoft," said Satiana Nandela, chief executive officer of the American company .
As outlined in the announcement, the company plans to keep Minecraft available on all platforms where it can be played today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation. This clarification reassures gamers about whether the acquisition of Mojang would mean "exclusivity" of the game for its platforms Microsoft.
In a publication on its website Mojang confirmed its acquisition by Microsoft. "Change is afraid, and that will be a great change for all of us. But it will be for good. Everything will go well, "he says.
With regard to the reasons for the acquisition, it is noted that Minecraft's creator Marcus "Notch" Persson (a prolific champion of independent games development, who had previously criticized Microsoft) decided that he did not want the ownership of a " ... the pressure of Minecraft's ownership was a lot for him. The only option was the sale of Mojang. But he will continue to make nice things. Do not worry about it. " At the same time, it is noted that there are few potential buyers with the resources that will allow Minecraft to grow to the extent it deserves. We work closely with Microsoft from 2012 and we are impressed by their steady dedication to our game and its development ". It also emphasizes that "there is no reason to stop developing, selling and supporting Minecraft versions for PC / Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS and Android. Of course, the Microsoft can not make decisions for other companies or predict the choices they can make in the future. "
Source: naftemporiki.gr
