Microsoft's massive acquisition of Minecraft and its development studio Mojang has been completed today, the company announced.
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Microsoft purchased Minecraft and Mojang for a cool $2.5 billion, attaining control of the super popular indie title and its associated properties. The deal was announced back in September, but Xbox division head Phil Spencer today tweeted that the acquisition has been completed.
It's official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family," Spencer stated. "We're excited for the possibilities ahead w/the Minecraft community."
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Mojang will become another of Microsoft's first-party studios, though its intent with Minecraft is unclear at this time. Microsoft did state that it would not lock the game behind its platforms only, and versions have continued to roll out onto Sony's systems.
"Minecraft adds diversity to our game portfolio and helps us reach new gamers across multiple platforms. Gaming is the top activity across devices and we see great potential to continue to grow theMinecraft community and nurture the franchise. That is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms - including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC."
What exact benefits ownership of Minecraft brings Microsoft going forward remains to be seen-the majority of copies are already sold, and it's not necessarily a title that lends itself to a sequel as it has been consistently updated since launch to create a more comprehensive game. That said, a Microsoft-exclusive Minecraft 2 is not inconceivable, and remains one of the most obvious reasons the company would look to purchase Mojang aside from the merchandising options. For Minecraft creator Notch's part, he explained in a blog post that it's not about the money, and the game and its fanbase became larger than he ever expected--stepping away was done for his own mental health.
