Would/could it happen?

[Franklin]

Oh snap: http://pastebin.com/n1qTeikM

[problemecium]

So much for Notch's plans to eventually make Minecraft open-source... instead we get to look forward to an annual subscription. Oh, and having to sign into your Microsoft account to play.

[Wallace]

They've bought the company that's made arguably the most popular game ever made, along with some of the brains who made it what it is.

Nope, that would be Tetris, 143 million copies sold.

Minecraft has sold 54 million, however there is also a lot of minecraft merchandise as it's mostly played by kids, so they probably make more cash of minecraft toys and accessories than off the game itself.

Tbh, on the face of it, it sounds like a bad deal for Microsoft, considering it only cost Disney 4 billion for Star Wars, but no doubt they have other reasons to pocket a popular game like minecraft, do I see Windows 9 and Xbone exclusive new content for minecraft coming along, I do believe that I do...

Also, Quoth the blog:

The founders: Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving. We don’t know what they’re planning. It won’t be Minecraft-related but it will probably be cool.

So, seems they've not bought the key brainses, in fact the blog states the reason they sold is because they don't want the job of running the minecraft empire and would rather sell up and go do other projects so they are bugging right out of there. What the bought is the franchise,

[r_rolo1]

Hum, to be honest, Microsoft as a PC game developer is a quite nice company, with a couple of solid titles before the bigwigs pulled the plug on Microsoft Studios ( ok, technically it was the ex-Ensemble studios people making most of the stuff, but still ... ). EA ... grrr, I still have a grudge on them on what they did to the Populous series or to Alpha Centauri.

On KSP proper ... remember that SQUAD is not a game developer, but a marketing company that decided to finance a employee project of a indie game about rockets. It was a cool attitude for the SQUAD management, but it would not be surprising if a new leadership wanted the company to focus on the core business, especially if some game studio comes up with some juicy proposal ...

[Dooz]

Well Im sure the mega studios are like "ewwww this game is in alpha!" Its very very unlikely mabye if KSP hits 1.0 it could happen.

[Guest]

Nope, that would be Tetris, 143 million copies sold.

Minecraft has sold 54 million, however there is also a lot of minecraft merchandise as it's mostly played by kids, so they probably make more cash of minecraft toys and accessories than off the game itself.

Tbh, on the face of it, it sounds like a bad deal for Microsoft, considering it only cost Disney 4 billion for Star Wars, but no doubt they have other reasons to pocket a popular game like minecraft, do I see Windows 9 and Xbone exclusive new content for minecraft coming along, I do believe that I do...

Also, Quoth the blog:

So, seems they've not bought the key brainses, in fact the blog states the reason they sold is because they don't want the job of running the minecraft empire and would rather sell up and go do other projects so they are bugging right out of there. What the bought is the franchise,

We can't compare tetris and minecraft. Both inspiring in their own ways - i did say arguably.

Also the key brains of the project are the ones currently here, making minecraft was a simple project but developing it into what it is now wasn't all dont by them; to quote myself "along with some of the brains who made it what it is".

It seems you've scanned what i wrote a little too fast. 2.5 billion is a huge amount of money, but over the next decade, minecraft and Mojang will grow and grow and evolve into new forms - to a point where it really is a massive global brand on it's own (it is now, really - just smaller), when that happens, 2.5b will seem small.

I'm not a massive fan of minecraft, the developers, or even their playerbase - but this is good for the tech world.

[djnattyd]

I suppose Microsoft are wanting some of the indie success stories that Sony have gotten with the PS4. Sony, whilst not outright owning them, have a lot of sway with the devs of No Mans Sky due to them being a major backer. Microsoft had nothing in comparison until now.

It'll suck hard if Minecraft becomes locked to the 360 and XB1, I'm sure they'll face a massive amount of anticompetitive lawsuits if they go that route.

My worry is that with them wanting to capture what Sony have, they're going to go all out and throw money at indie studios which means Mojang could just be the first of many to go mainstream and it'll be us gamers that feel the effects of it.

[Red Iron Crown]

On KSP proper ... remember that SQUAD is not a game developer, but a marketing company that decided to finance a employee project of a indie game about rockets. It was a cool attitude for the SQUAD management, but it would not be surprising if a new leadership wanted the company to focus on the core business, especially if some game studio comes up with some juicy proposal ...

Actually, it came out in Maxmaps' Ask Me Anything on Reddit that Squad the video game developer is now a separate company from Squad the marketing firm. Not sure if that makes a buyout more or less likely.

It'll suck hard if Minecraft becomes locked to the 360 and XB1, I'm sure they'll face a massive amount of anticompetitive lawsuits if they go that route.

Unlikely that would go anywhere, MS does not have a relevant monopoly to abuse.

[Guest]

I suppose Microsoft are wanting some of the indie success stories that Sony have gotten with the PS4. Sony, whilst not outright owning them, have a lot of sway with the devs of No Mans Sky due to them being a major backer. Microsoft had nothing in comparison until now.

It'll suck hard if Minecraft becomes locked to the 360 and XB1, I'm sure they'll face a massive amount of anticompetitive lawsuits if they go that route.

My worry is that with them wanting to capture what Sony have, they're going to go all out and throw money at indie studios which means Mojang could just be the first of many to go mainstream and it'll be us gamers that feel the effects of it.

I've heard just as much about Sony indie titles as i have about minecraft titles - nothing. They control so little of the market share, and never seem to stick.. I wish they did more often.

Minecraft isn't being locked, however the main threat right now is over platforms refusing to host minecraft (as silly as that may sound). Microsoft has had the balls to say this, great news.

Also with my above posts, this is only going to influence more people into the indie gaming world, or even programming in general, this is awesome news!

- - - Updated - - -

Also, i don't know how much KSP would benefit from a Gaming-Squad buyout - is there really much more that can change apart from an accelerated update process?

[r_rolo1]

Actually, it came out in Maxmaps' Ask Me Anything on Reddit that Squad the video game developer is now a separate company from Squad the marketing firm. Not sure if that makes a buyout more or less likely.

Didn't knew that it makes the bigwigs pulling the plug less likely, but it makes it easier to be bought down , like the myriad other studios that have gone down or borged down by EA or other big names in the last decades...

[CalculusWarrior]

Speaking of the Sims, I wouldn't mind seeing a teamup between Squad and Maxis. The Sims games have always sort of reminded me of KSP's lighthearted simulation style, so that would be about one of the only good things to come out of a EA takeover, in my opinion.

[Franklin]

Speaking of the Sims, I wouldn't mind seeing a teamup between Squad and Maxis. The Sims games have always sort of reminded me of KSP's lighthearted simulation style, so that would be about one of the only good things to come out of a EA takeover, in my opinion.

I would hope SimCity 2013 being heralded as the worst launched and most castratedly DRMed title in recent history would keep Squad away from that sort of partnership. Of course, 2.5B is a big number.

[Alshain]

Speaking of the Sims, I wouldn't mind seeing a teamup between Squad and Maxis. The Sims games have always sort of reminded me of KSP's lighthearted simulation style, so that would be about one of the only good things to come out of a EA takeover, in my opinion.

No no no no no no no no no. The Sims is an awful game and Maxis hasn't contributed anything decent to gaming since Sim City 4. NO!

[Javster]

2.5 billion? That's 25 years worth of Minecraft profits. Bad, bad business decision for Microsoft. Mojang must be laughing!

Ha, I tried to look up "what can you buy with $2.5bn" but only Minecraft news.

I assume you could buy:

Several fighter jets

An army of jetskis

EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER WANT.

[Red Iron Crown]

I wish to go to Mars. How close would $2.5 billion get me?

[TMS]

Far cheaper than that: http://www.minecraftforum.net/forums/minecraft-pocket-edition/mcpe-maps/1979850-planet-mars-download-link

[Alshain]

You guys do realize Notch isn't getting all of that right?

[djnattyd]

I wish to go to Mars. How close would $2.5 billion get me?

Probably GSO. It costs around $27,000/kg to launch an Atlas V.

[Liowen]

You guys do realize Notch isn't getting all of that right?

If it is divided amongest the 3 developers that is still $833,333,333.33 (roughly and not counting tax of course). Still not a bad pay day for a game that cost, in terms of the big game companies budget, very little. As for Microsoft being a great company I guess you could say that....if you over look Vista, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows 8, making Xbox 360 not backwards compatible at launch, red ring of death, and forcing people to upgrade to an unstable operating system by saying the old one is obsolete, yet was 10x's more stable than what the new one was (I am sure I have forgotten a few things but these are the big ones). It is a smart move on Microsofts end though as it is a game that has brand recognition and a very large fan base, without them doing much work other than opening their pocket book. Think of all the development time, researching, artists, programers, coders, or even marketing campaigns since it is already out in force. It is what they do with the property once everything is said and done that has me concerned more than who has it really, my biggest free is it will turn into a micro transaction game and the multiplayer element will be pay to win (which was a problem on private servers not too long ago).

[peadar1987]

Probably GSO. It costs around $27,000/kg to launch an Atlas V.

Nah, much closer than that*. Curiosity only cost $700m to get to Mars.

*You're not particularly bothered about surviving the trip, are you? Because that could throw up a few additional expenses.

[Red Iron Crown]

Liowen, what was wrong with Windows 2000? When did Microsoft force anyone to upgrade?

[Liowen]

Liowen, what was wrong with Windows 2000? When did Microsoft force anyone to upgrade?

If you want to use anything new you have to upgrade, including consoles since they stop development for their older systems at that point. I guess that isn't forcing you to upgrade, but in someways it does since it is the only way to use other products. Also this statement in Frobes is the more troubling bit of the purchase, though someone will be ok with I guess as well...

Traditionally Mojang has maintained a decidedly indie spirit, not collecting data on its users and encouraging employees to interact with fans online. Microsoft has a much more controlled PR presence and operates like most other giant tech firms in terms of data collection and so forth. It would certainly be a test of culture clash to mix the two.â€Â

[djnattyd]

Nah, much closer than that*. Curiosity only cost $700m to get to Mars.

*You're not particularly bothered about surviving the trip, are you? Because that could throw up a few additional expenses.

Is that all? I would've imagined that the Curiosity mission cost a lot more with it being a nuclear powered dune buggy with a laser for a face.

Is that just the launch costs or is that including the additional cost of the rover as well?

[cantab]

On topic: What's Squad's ownership structure? Ie are they publicly traded, a private limited company, something Mexican that's not fully analogous to UK or US corporate structures, what? Because that has a big effect on how easily or otherwise they might be taken over.

Of course there's already one candidate buyer for Squad: Curse, should they want to branch out into actually owning game studios.

Off topic: My main concern with the Minecraft acquisition is that MS will make it exclusive to their platforms and stop the updates for others. Ie Windows 8 Store, Windows Phone Store, and XBox One only. No OSX or Linux, no other consoles, no Steam, no iOS or Android etc. They may feel that Minecraft is popular enough that "Exclusively for Windows and XBox" will drive phone and console sales.

[Technical Ben]

Liowen, what was wrong with Windows 2000? When did Microsoft force anyone to upgrade?

Windows 8.1. Try getting a PC with 7 from retail outlets.

On topic, I've no problem with KSP being sold, bought etc and moving on to new owners. Because I bought it as a game. I was told it's a game.

Minecraft was sold as a game, but the makers made them selves very vocal about how and what they were going to do. They very rarely if ever actually delivered though (I'm finding it hard to think of a single promise... ).

So MC is more about broken promises, and complete 180s on direction. "Oh, we so want to opensource this, or carry on forever..., nope, sell it and run!"