Mojang and its hit franchise, Minecraft, now belong to Microsoft as the previously announced $2.5 billion buyout was officially completed last week. Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, was pleased to announce the news on Twitter, stating:
It’s official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family. We’re excited for the possibilities ahead w/the Minecraft community.
A day before Spencer’s announcement, Minecraft creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, departed Mojang. Tweeting about his final moments in the studio, he said:
I left the mojang office for the last time, and didn’t properly say bye because everything is strange.
I don’t even know what a fitting bye is. So I just left like it’s a normal day, with normal things happening.
Microsoft has vowed to continue supporting the Minecraft community across all platforms. What direction the franchise will now take remains to be seen.
[Source: Phil Spencer (Twitter), Markus Persson (Twitter)]