WSJ: ''Mojang to be bought by Microsoft'

Not that I want MS to buy this.. but honestly I think Mojang has done a shit job with the IP.. and it's all about the community when it comes to Minecraft. The actual Mojang updates are so far between and so barren compared to what's happened by the community it's pretty embarrassing.

The game needs a new engine.. because it runs like shit for what it's doing.
 
Steverulez said:
Because the IP they're based on is now owned by a competitor? I mean I'm sure they wouldn't just cut them dead straight away, but I doubt there would be a big period of support
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I doubt MS will be able to just straight up cut Minecraft from Playstation plattforms.
I'm sure Sony signed some stuff to get Minecraft on PS plattforms and these contracts are still valid, even when the owner of the IP changes.
 
Great. Just bought it on PS4 to play with some friends easier. Money well wasted. I swear this console bullshit pisses me off sometimes. Hopefully it stays a rumor because I would like to actually see the game updated.
 
Well, Minecraft had a good run while it lasted. I have a hard time imagining Mojang doing anything good under Microsoft.

Boy does Nintendo look like even bigger idiots for never getting Minecraft released on any of their platforms.
 
If its the WSJ I'd take it with more faith that this is true, that there is a deal currently being reached or discussed. They don't screw around when it comes to money lol...This is a smart, smart move for MS but absolutely terrible for a section of the consumer base....just terrible. I'm sick of the 'threat' of multiplats becoming exclusives....I think MS is probably desperate at this point.
 
This move just ensures Microsoft has total control over the profits and IP of Mojang or in other words, they own Minecraft 2, Minecraft: The Movie, Minecraft Legos, Minecraft: The Graphic Novel, Minecraft: The Novelization, etc.

I'm sure they ran the numbers and found a way to profit off of Mojang in the long run and that will most definitely be over selling the Minecraft IP.

But that may take longer than they hope if Minecraft 2 is locked to XB1 or even locked to PC/XB1

And Microsoft should have done this when Minecraft was on the rise, not at the apex of it's existence. Their approach to 1st party is still abysmal, even with Phil Spencer at the helm, they should be using that $2 billion to acquire Epic, Crytek, Remedy, Certain Affinity, Double Helix, Harmonix, Saber Interactive, Ska Studios, The Behemoth, Undead Labs, Capy, Klei, Platinum Games. Developers whom they've had a 2nd party relationship with
 
I'm both stunned and don't care.

On one hand, Minecraft was a revolution and I don't want any part of it getting gobbled up by a publisher, especially an exclusive one. I want it to be everywhere and open to all and not turned into a wicked money making scheme (f2p minecraft with microtransactions for resources, oh boy!).

On the other hand, excluding Minecraft, I don't care about their other games. MC could end up being the biggest one hit wonder ever. So in terms of future games being exclusive... idc one bit. If thats what they want. I find it hard to believe it is, since they seemed to love their independence (notchspinninginchair.gif), but if they really don't already have too much money (they do) then whatever, good knowing you?
 
Duxxy3 said:
Yes, but the game publisher's that people are mentioning likely have operating costs that equal all of microsoft gane studios (well take 2 anyhow). Microsoft's investment in xbox game studios would double overnight.
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Which matters little when the profit margins are huge. GTA 5 alone probably made a billion in profit. Not to mention all of the gamers that would buy/switch to MS platform when all their favorite games are only available on MS platform. If MS were to buy a game studio for $2 billion, they could much better than Mojang imo.
 
Minecraft 2 made using Microsofts multiplatform app thing, so Xbox WP and PC. Believe.

But seriously this whole sale makes sense from a "Minecraft probably doesn't have much left in it, sell it off because the Mojang brand hasn't shown it can be successful outside of Minecraft".

Then Notch goes and does something else, maybe Psyconaughts.
 
I don't understand it: from MS side, they are a 1 hit wonder (already released in PS3/4 and very soon on Vita), they still have to release another game with moderate success.

From Mojang side, they'd loose the indie stuff and instead of keep making new stuff they would be very likely to be milking their popular IP as happened with other studios who signed a bid deal with them.

And well, seems too much money. That btw, I'd say Mojang doesn't need it since they already sold several dozens of millions of copies.
 
If this happens, Minecraft Next is going to be a thing on all of the MS products. I doubt they'd spend $2bil just to push Xbox.

I'm more concerned about the future of Minecraft on Linux/Mac. On the other hand, I'd be glad to be rid of sloppy Java.
 
1.21Gigawatts said:
I doubt MS will be able to just straight up cut Minecraft from Playstation plattforms.
I'm sure Sony signed some stuff to get Minecraft on PS plattforms and these contracts are still valid, even when the owner of the IP changes.
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The only difference would be the money from sales going to Microsoft instead of going to Mojang.
 
This seems kind of weird to me. I know Minecraft is hugely successful, but I don't really see how much further you could go with the concept unless you destroyed a lot of minecraft's appeal.
 
Dire said:
I think this is way too much money for it to be just an exclusive grab, particularly after they went that route with Titanfall and ended up shelling out one can only imagine how much money on a game with no legs that sold a whopping 3million or so copies.

I imagine the point here is simply to try to monetize the life out of Minecraft. That means releasing a sequel on a ton of platforms, but trying to sell updates as DLC and including microtransactions as well. Rather than have it as XBone exclusive I imagine we'd see stuff like XBone exclusive content and perhaps even some sort of deal like you get free content updates if, and only if, you are an XBone Live gold member.
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Minecraft 2 would get hardware into homes. It wouldn't be about selling the game for profit, or even if the game was any good. It would be exclusive to Microsoft's gaming sphere and allow them to penetrate the market on a scale outside of MC2's sales alone. And, as we know, hardware penetration is what ultimately makes a company money because those people buying the console just for MC2 will also probably buy other games, accessories, etc. as well.

I know this is strictly speculative, but this business move would make a lot of sense. The price tag is steep, but the long-term profit and business stance MS would get from this would be insane.
 
The worst possible outcome would be Minecraft being microsoft console exclusive, I don't think they'd be bad enough to do that but you never know.

Plus you can pretty much guarantee the Playstation versions won't get any support like the Vita Skype app.
 
Some of the comments here are funny.

If MS is shelling out $2 fucking BILLION it ain't just so they can make Minecraft 2 exclusive to Xbone.

They'd have far, far bigger and frankly more profitable aims for the franchise than that. They would probably use Minecraft to spearhead their jump into VR or their AR next-generation devices. Or whatever the next game-changer technology all the tech giants are developing.

If they had Minecraft in their entertainment stable, they'd be in a better place to take on Apple.
 
They could get Rare to develop it as a Kinect exclusive and add Conker as a DLC. Would also be a good candidate to tick that 1080p/60fps box on Xbox One.
 
Chuck said:
they're talking out of their asses. you new here?
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How is that talking out of their ass, when one can assume Microsoft bought them so they have ownership over the Minecraft IP as well as the developer who created the Minecraft IP?

A Minecraft 2 would be very possible if Microsoft wants to make a profit off of this deal.
 
I don't really see how MS would earn their money back from this move.

LilWayneSuckz said:
How is that talking out of their ass, when one can assume Microsoft bought them so they have ownership over the Minecraft IP as well as the developer who created the Minecraft IP?

A Minecraft 2 would be very possible if Microsoft wants to make a profit off of this deal.
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Notch would probably be gone after this move and I don't really know if a Minecraft 2 would be able to generate that kind of money given how MS would probably handle the game.
 
Infinite Xero said:
Which matters little when the profit margins are huge. GTA 5 alone probably made a billion in profit. Not to mention all of the gamers that would buy/switch to MS platform when all their favorite games are only available on MS platform. If MS were to buy a game studio for $2 billion, they could much better than Mojang imo.
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Yes, there is a lot of potential profit to make if they bought take 2. It is going to cost them billions for take take two, and probably billions more for development and marketing costs for those games.

It would give them an incredible potential lineup, but I don't think Microsoft is willing to invest that much into the xbox division.

Mojang would not be brought on board JUST to make xbox games. PC and Mobile development would still be the most important.
 
Coulomb_Barrier said:
If they had Minecraft in their entertainment stable, they'd be in a better place to take on Apple.
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This is nuts and completely out of character for Notch. His whole deal with Mojang was that they were going to be a vehicle to support indie development and never become public. The only way I can see Notch going through with this is if he and his employees plan to run off with the money and immediately found a new company to foster indie development with a $2 billion war chest. That could be tempting for Notch if he is okay with giving up Minecraft. He hasn't been involved with developing it himself in quite a while, I believe...
 
wapplew said:
What studio will be better investment for 2b? Capcom?
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Honestly I'm kind of struggling to think of any. MS are so bad at cultivating developer relations that there are no studios that seem like good options for them. Perhaps Playground or Crytek?
 
pirata said:
This is nuts and completely out of character for Notch. His whole deal with Mojang was that they were going to be a vehicle to support indie development and never become public. The only way I can see Notch going through with this is if he and his employees plan to run off with the money and immediately found a new company to foster indie development with a $2 billion war chest. That could be tempting for Notch if he is okay with giving up Minecraft. He hasn't been involved with developing it himself in quite a while, I believe...
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He should take the money, if he doesn't want it he should get it and give to charity. He could easily create another company later with the same people and keep developing games.
 
jem0208 said:
Why are you assuming that mods will stopped?

MS don't have a history of preventing modding. On PC at least.
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Preventing modding and offering a path to support it are 2 completely different things.

If a Microsoft owned Minecraft sequel 1.) Comes to the PC, and 2.) Offers any path/ability for community modding, I will eat the blackest, fattest of crows.
 
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