Mojang Joins Microsoft; Founders Notch, Carl, Jakob Leaving

[Albino Boo]

Let this stand as an example that everyone has their price. And I certainly can't blame Notch. I wonder where this leaves his 20-odd employees.

I've never played Minecraft, but I wonder what this would lead to regarding Microsoft product tie-ins and such, like Halo. And where does that leave current customers I wonder. I mean the legality, the mods, the servers, etc.

Depends on the contracts that the people work under. If they were full time employees of the studio then under EU law they continue as is with no change to their statutory rights. If Microsoft want the studio to the US or something similar they would have offer help moving and a new job at reasonably close pay to what they get now or offer a generous redundancy package. The same goes if the they were on a fixed term contract with the obvious difference that Microsoft are under no obligation to renew at the end of contract. If they were employed as interims or for the project only they Microsoft can give them the push quickly, the notice period can be short as two weeks.

Unless Microsoft decided to change the licence terms at some point in the future everything will stay the same.

 

[JLF]

What is up with Microsoft buying Scandinavian companies lately. First Nokia now Mojang.

 

[toms]

What is up with Microsoft buying Scandinavian companies lately. First Nokia now Mojang.

We'll be getting an indestructible block of a windows smartphone soon, clearly.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Well, with that much money, Mojang officially has the time and money to make whatever kind of games he wants, as there is no possible way any person could spend that much money in one lifetime.
Well, except for Bill Gates, obviously.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

2,5 billion...

If I would ever see this much money on my bank account, I would just stare at it without realising just how much that is... my mind just boggles at the concept.

So, is Notch gonna finance a space expedition and build himself a sustainable home on mars? I bet he could do that now.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

On the bright side Notch is gone.
Maybe some competent developer will now fix Minecraft to run normally and add actual features rather than taking mods and badly implementing them in the game.

 

[Laughing Man]

Depends on the contracts that the people work under.

Not quite sure that is what he meant, my understanding was that under Notch and Co the money that came to the company stayed with the company and Notch was apparently quite generous with it, under Microsoft the employees at Mojang will now be just employees, a fixed wage in accordance with whatever contracts they have, maybe a little bonus here or there if the game does well, but the profits, all of that will go straight in to the MS money vault and my god will they need it because Notch has just robbed them blind. Even with all the none game related cash, merchandise etc, I can't ever see how MS will recover the 2.5billion they spent.

Oh well on the up side maybe Minecraft will now appear on Occulus Rift.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

So how long until Minecraft: Nuts and Bolts is released?

 

[toms]

On the bright side Notch is gone.
Maybe some competent developer will now fix Minecraft to run normally and add actual features rather than taking mods and badly implementing them in the game.

Uh.. As stated in many places before, Notch has had nothing to do with Minecraft development for a long time.
That's one of the reasons he's selling, he is fed up with having to take abuse from people about stuff he has nothing to do with.

 

[f1r2a3n4k5]

Ok, Notch, Ok. Sure this is about the stress of running a company you seem to really enjoy. And not at all about the fact that Microsoft offered you so much money, that its weight in thousand dollar bills could crush you.

Haha. I don't blame him at all. And you can't just come out and say, "Well, it came down to running a game company or having enough money to declare myself king of a small nation."

 

[Waaghpowa]

So long as they continue support for all platforms and keep the games mod-ability open, I don't care. Though this is Microsoft, you can bet that they're going to stick their dick in this pudding eventually.

 

[blackrave]

Good for Notch, potentially disastrous for M$
I kinda feel bad for M$
.
.
.
Wait, no I don't.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

On the bright side Notch is gone.
Maybe some competent developer will now fix Minecraft to run normally and add actual features rather than taking mods and badly implementing them in the game.

Uh.. As stated in many places before, Notch has had nothing to do with Minecraft development for a long time.
That's one of the reasons he's selling, he is fed up with having to take abuse from people about stuff he has nothing to do with.

Notch is an egoist. He likes being in the center of attention which is the reason why he loves to use his twitter account to talk about shit he shouldn't be talking. While he didn't code anymore, he obviously had a saying since he's their job. He isn't the type of guy who would give up his saying.

And no, just because he said he's he sold it because of those reasons doesn't mean he actually did it. He sold it because he's incompetent, Minecraft was a lucky strike and it won't get any more popular. He was losing money with Mojang in comparison to 2.5 billion dollar. There is no way Mojang could earn him that much money.

Saying Notch isn't responsible for what's happening with Minecraft is like saying Iwata isn't responsible for what is happening with Mario or Zelda. You really need to be naive to believe that Notch isn't the reason why Minecraft isn't even 1% of what it could have been if it was made by competent developer... or any of the million modder who are obviously more competent than Jeb and Notch combined.

Also when I said with Notch gone a competent developer could fix up Minecraft I meant Notch unwillingness to hire someone who knows how to develop games. I didn't mean Notch is literally coding the game.

 

[Mezahmay]

Welp, Minecraft was fun while it lasted. Guess I can finally write Scrolls off too after all this time.

Edit: You know what, maybe this won't be the worst thing. Minecraft 2.0 update could feature a new engine that can do new and crazy things, like transparent clouds, fix the lighting issue for half blocks, and properly kill people trying to x-ray with glowstone.

 

[Ickabod]

I'm reserving judgement of the deal. But I highly doubt that we'll see a 1.9 content patch for free.

 

[Karadalis]

"Theres no reason to stop development for plattform XXX instead of only xbox"

Rrrrrright... sorry Notch but you sold the game to micro$oft. They will do whatever the fuck they want with minecraft now. If they decide next month that supporting a product on a rival console is not profitable enough you will hear their support for Sony and apple product fall down harder then a bunch of wet towels.

Given... for 2.5 billions i would too say any amount of PR crap and hollow promises while im on my way to my castle in the bahamas or something.

Also the guys remaining at Mojang... well i guess its over getting extra stuff for their work and all those benefits that Notch liked to share with his crew. Its back to a workslave payment and unpaid overtime like everywhere else in the industry.

Wouldnt be surprised if the old developers disapear one after the other now.

And lastly... i have to question micro$ofts sanity... no way is Mojang worth 2.5 Billion dollars when the studio allready has peaked in popularity and allready has maxed out their minecraft sales on every available platform.

What do they expect to happen? Lightning striking twice?

 

[The Hungry Samurai]

So now that Notch has some time on his hands, he should drop an application at Valve. They could sit around and not program games that we want together all day!

 

[Riff Moonraker]

Christ. Hope Microsoft doesn't fuck this up too badly. Just let the employees do their thing and keep updating the game. The money will print itself. DON'T FUCK IT UP MICROSOFT!

Agreed! This could be a good thing, if they let it! Seeing Microsoft make the statement that it will continue to be available across all platforms is a step in the right direction, in my opinion. I would let Sony and Playstation fans give me money, too!

 

[Aerotrain]

"I want to retire
No longer required
I want to get by without the man on my back
A tear in my eye
With a heart full of pride
I must go out on a high
And not to answer to why

I want to retire
Inform the suppliers
I'll leave the party in style
And not to be carried out
Without a cloud in the sky
I Got my fingers in pies
A Golden watch on my side
Will measure my free time"
Retirement - Kaiser Chiefs