How Much Did Microsoft Pay For Minecraft

List Of Mergers And Acquisitions By Microsoft

Microsoft is an American publicmultinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. Established on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASICinterpreters for the Altair 8800, Microsoft rose to dominate the home computeroperating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. Microsoft would also come to dominate the office suite market with Microsoft Office. The company has diversified in recent years into the video game industry with the Xbox, the Xbox 360, the Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X as well as into the consumer electronics and digital services market with Zune, MSN and the Windows Phone OS.

The company’s initial public offering was held on March 14, 1986. The stock, which eventually closed at US$27.75 a share, peaked at $29.25 a share shortly after the market opened for trading. After the offering, Microsoft had a market capitalization of $519.777 million. Microsoft has subsequently acquired over 225 companies, purchased stakes in 64 companies, and made 25 divestments. Of the companies that Microsoft has acquired, 107 were based in the United States. Microsoft has not released financial details for most of these mergers and acquisitions.

Billionaire Who Sold Minecraft To Microsoft Is Sad And Lonely

Technically Incorrect: In a series of tweets, Markus Persson says he’s never felt more isolated.

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that’s taken over our lives.

Being rich is wonderful.

At least that’s the assumption the whole world seems to make.

The wealthy are today’s so-called rock stars, even though the music that emerges from their mouths can sometimes feel like a dirge played on a flute slipped up someone’s nose.

This is especially true of the tech world, where untold billions have descended on young, sometimes socially awkward, nerdy types.

Markus “Notch” Persson is one of those new billionaires. The 36-year-old founded Mojang, created Minecraft and sold it to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.

He bought himself a $70 million mansion in Beverly Hills, supposedly outbidding Jay Z and Beyonce.

After completing the Microsoft deal, he didn’t join Redmond’s merry band. Instead, he started a new life. He’s wondering now if it’s a better one.

In a series of tweets posted on Saturday, Persson exposed his feelings. Raw and deeply melancholy, they reveal that money truly isn’t everything — at least for him.

He began: “The problem with getting everything is you run out of reasons to keep trying, and human interaction becomes impossible due to imbalance.”

It depends on how you define everything. For many people, Persson might seem like the man with everything. Instead, he bemoans the difficulty of having relationships.

Minecraft Sold: Microsoft Buys Mojang For $25bn

Swedish developer confirms deal and explains what it will mean for the companys multimillion-selling building sim. Founder Markus Persson is set to leave

First published on Mon 15 Sep 2014 14.41 BST

Minecraft creator Mojang is being sold to Microsoft, the studio has confirmed. According to a statement released by the Swedish developer on Monday afternoon, the purchase price is $2.5bn.

Mojang spokesman Owen Hill and Microsoft have separately sought to reassure fans of the multimillion selling building sim that work on the game will continue unaffected.

In the statement, Hill suggested that the pressure of running the company, which generated $326m in revenue last year, became too much for the founders, Markus Persson , Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser. All are leaving the company.

Minecraft has become a global phenomenon since its launch in 2009 as an incomplete alpha project. Since then, the game, which provides users with randomly generated environments in which to craft all manner of buildings, has sold over 50m copies on PC, smartphone and consoles.

In its announcement of the deal, Microsoft claimed that Minecraft had been downloaded more than 100m times on PC alone since 2009 a figure that includes free downloads while pointing out that Xbox 360owners have played the game for more than 2bn hours in the last two years.

According to Mojangs statement, the focus of the company will now be on supporting Minecraft with new content and features:

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What Is Minecraft And Why Did Microsoft Just Pay $25 Billion For It

Microsoft announced today that it is buying Mojang, a Swedish game company that is responsible for the megahit Minecraft, for $2.5 billion. Its the most significant acquisition for Microsoft since it bought Nokia last year, and one of the biggest developments of the year in the gaming;world.

If youre like me , the odds are good that Minecraft is a mystery to you. What is this game? And why did Microsoft deem it worthy of a giant pile of money? Here, fellow olds, this should;help:

What is Minecraft?Its an open-ended, exploration-based video game created in 2009 by Swedish game developer Markus Notch Persson. Players begin in an empty, barren world, and have to gather and mine various materials, while gathering food and fending off attacks from monsters, to survive. Theres no instruction manual to follow, and no explicit goals to achieve. Its what gamers call a sandbox game, one that lets players modify the world around them in nearly infinite;ways.

So its like the Sims?Sort of, but it has much more in common with LEGO. Minecraft is a platform for creative expression that allows players to do almost anything, including modding the game itself and creating vast environments that resemble real-world places or fictional worlds. Its also much more prosaic-looking than the Sims with simple, blocky graphics straight out of the Super NES;days.

Markus Persson

Those acquisition talks must have been a little;awkward.

The World Of Minecraft

For those unfamiliar with Minecraft, the game is like a virtual sandbox. Players can create their own worlds, socialize, and explore content created by other users. It’s sort of like a virtual Lego experience mixed with elements of social media — and the game is enormously popular.

Minecraft;had sold roughly 50 million copies when Microsoft acquired Mojang in 2014. Today, the title’s sales have passed 144 million units, the third most of any game ever — and it looks like;there’s still a long sales life ahead.

Minecraft isn’t a fad. It’s become a fixture in the gaming world, a sort of genre and platform unto itself, and;Mojang’s;title continues to add to a long list of sales and engagement achievements.

The game currently stands as the second-best-selling paid app on iOS according to AppAnnie, and it’s putting up great sales on other platforms as well. Minecraft released on Nintendo’s 3DS portable console last November and was the system’s seventh-best-selling game for that month, its third-best-selling game in December, and its fifth-best-selling game in both January and February.;The title was the eighth-best-selling Nintendo Switch game in 2017.;;

Minecraft merchandise and spinoff content have also proven to be hits, with themed bedding, clothing, toy lines, and a YouTube miniseries produced by Mattel representing just a small slice of what’s out there across mediums. There’s even a big-budget;Minecraft film in development.

Image source: Microsoft.

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Minecraft Modders Have Sold A Billion Mods Made Over $350m Since Microsoft Bought It

Microsoft announced its Q3 financial results on Tuesday, reporting a frankly incomprehensible $15.5 billion in net income. Windows revenue is up, and so is the gaming division, unsurprising given the launch of the new Xbox Series X and Series S. More interesting are the figures around Minecraftspecifically, how much money modders, rather than Microsoft itself, have made over the last few years.

“Creators have generated over $350 million from more than one billion downloads of mods, add-ons, and other experiences in Minecraft,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in Microsoft’s third quarter earnings call today. That means $350 million in just the last four yearsMicrosoft launched its official Minecraft marketplace in 2017. That figure doesn’t include any mod sales through other channels.

While Nadella didn’t specify, I assume “generated” here means total sales, so modders haven’t actually pocketed that much; Microsoft has said in the past it gives more than 50 percent of the revenue to creators, but it does keep a slice for itself.

Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue increased by $1.2 billion, or 50 percent, in the third quarter.

How Much Money Has Microsoft Made From Minecraft

So, Mojang was bought by Microsoft 15 September 2014 for $2.5B, how much has Mojang/Minecraft/Microsoft made since then? I don’t know where to look

but did they make 2.5 billions worth from it yet? they bought the game 5 years ago and if they havent made 2.5 billion yet then it was a dumb move. they could have just saved the 2.5 billion and made their own game for 100 milliion and made all profits. also 2.5 billion is just what they payed notch. they would have to spend much more to get the game up to speed and set up other offices and branches for it which adds another 100-200 millions in spendings.

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Ways Microsoft Can Ruin Minecraft And 3 Ways It Can Make Mojang Even Better

With more than 50 million copies sold, a robust line of toys and other accessories, and a near-endless legion of fan-created YouTube Lets Plays, theres no doubt that indie game Minecraft is a colossal hit. Heck, its a veritable cultural phenomenon. But now, theres reason to;question the future of the blockbuster game, as Microsoft has announced that its buying Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5 billion. Whats more, Mojang founder and Minecraft mastermind Markus Notch Persson is departing once the deal is complete.

Further reading: Heres Markus Notch Perssons farewell letter to Minecraft fans.

Its a monumental moment for the future of Minecraft: Will Microsofts structure and piles of cash boost Mojang to ever-more-stratospheric heights, or will the company fizzle out in Rare-esque fashion? Its all in how its handled.

Here are three things Microsoft can do that would ruin Minecraftand three things it could do to make the game even better.

How Much Of Microsofts $25 Billion Will Notch Actually Receive

Microsoft have just bought Minecraft developers Mojang for the brain-staggering sum of $2.5 billion, a number so large that if it were written out in full it would take up at least a couple of inches on a page.

But how much of that cash will actually end up in Notchs bank account? The answer will surprise you.

Lets do the math.

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Microsoft Rescued Minecraft From Notch

Image Credit: GamesBeat

Join gaming leaders online at GamesBeat Summit Next this upcoming November 9-10. Learn more about what comes next.;

Minecraft is still one of the most popular games in the world. It has 91 million monthly active players, according to Microsoft. And now The Minecraft Team is working to ensure the game doesnt open with any references to its old creator, Markus Notch Persson.

In the latest update to Minecraft, the game will no longer say Made by Notch! or The Work Of Notch! when you first boot up the game. Other messages will continue to show up randomly when youre loading into the block-building phenomenon. But any reference to Persson is gone from that splash screen.

But this isnt Microsoft trying to erase Notchs contributions from the game. His name still shows up in the credits. But Microsoft no longer seems interested in celebrating him, either. While that may have more to do with establishing Microsoft as the sole owner and operator of Minecraft, it seems likely that the company does not want to associate with Notchs edgelord shitposting behavior.

Why Microsoft Is Buying ‘minecraft’

Microsoft’s potential purchase of Mojang, the Swedish company behind the popular block-building video game “Minecraft,” may not be a big deal financially, but it could be the winning ticket to expanding its mobile business, analysts said.

The U.S. tech giant is in discussions to buy Mojang for an estimated $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week, a deal analysts don’t expect to impact Microsoft’s profits given that it’s roughly 2 percent of Microsoft’s $86 billion cash hoard as of the end of June.

“This is pocket change for Microsoft; they spend more than that in their quarterly dividend. It’s a move that gets headlines but in terms of its impact on Microsoft’s top-line or bottom-line, it’s going to be minor,” said Charles Sizemore, CIO at Sizemore Capital Management.

In 2013, Mojang had total revenue of around $330 million and profits of $128 million; “Minecraft” makes up 90 percent of Mojang’s revenues.

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Business opportunities

With a 100 million registered users worldwide as of February 2014 and strong profitability, “Minecraft” could be an opportunity for Microsoft to leverage its mobile and software businesses, Norman Young, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC on Thursday.

Read More10 best-selling video games of 2014

“They may be overpaying but if they’re smart about it, it’s not just the videogame, it’s leveraging the IP behind the game,” he added.

Mobile versus cloud

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Minecraft Is Building Bridges

In addition to putting up great sales numbers, Microsoft is using Minecraft to expand into new areas and take advantage of some emerging opportunities. The education-tech space is one area where that dynamic is evident. In 2016, Microsoft and Mojang released Minecraft: Education Edition — a version of the hit game designed for classroom use. Tech companies including Microsoft see a lot of opportunity in having a top position in ed tech, and Minecraft has the potential to be a significant asset in the space.

Educational video games have been around for decades, but;Mojang’s magnum opus is unique in that it was already enormously successful before being adapted for teaching use. The game’s popularity and flexibility set the stage for continued evolution, with new tools and features being added that shape the broader world of Minecraft.

In February, Mojang debuted a chemistry-themed resource pack to;Education Edition, and;Microsoft also recently announced that an online Minecraft experience had helped teach 85 million people some basic computer coding principles.

Minecraft Revenue And Usage Statistics

Minecraft has cemented its place as one of the few games to continue to grow in users a decade after its original release. While most video games have a shelf-life of less than two years, Mojang Studios seem to be capable of drawing gamers back in time and time again.;

Launched in 2009 by Markus Notch Persson, a game developer who had previously worked for King, Minecraft received lots of attention even before its official launch. The alpha and beta, available for PC users, lasted two years, which consisted of Mojang fine-tuning aspects of the game for official release.;

At the official launch, Notch handed over creative control to Jens Bergensten, a title he has kept since 2011. As millions flocked to this new game, Mojang continued to add new elements to the base experience, enabling more complex creations by its users.;

In 2014, rumours of a potential Mojang IPO led to Microsoft acquiring the studio for $2.5 billion. At the time, Microsoft was not as large of a gaming publisher and it wasnt clear what Microsofts plans were for the game. It has since gone on to acquire several game studios, including Double Fine Production, Compulsion Games, Bethesda Studios and Obsidian Entertainment.;

Between 2016 and 2017, Telltale Games launched Minecraft: Story Mode, which was the first attempt to stretch the IP beyond the sandbox experience. In 2020, Mojang would follow up Telltale with its own expansion, Minecraft Dungeons, a dungeon-crawler available on consoles and PC.;

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Microsoft/minecraft: How Much Did Redmond Overpay

Earlier this week it was confirmed that Microsoft is acquiring Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5 billion. Ive got mixed feelings about the transaction.

The strategic benefits are questionable and financially, Minecraft is worth maybe $1.8 billion a valuation which assumes a sequel is as commercially successful as the original, and which assumes the intellectual property rights founder Markus Persson took out of Mojang are part of the transaction.

A $1.8 billion valuation leaves $700 million that new revenue streams like additional merchandising, a successful movie, etc. are unlikely to cover.

The best possible explanation might be that Microsoft is using its foreign cash reserves to pay for the acquisition money that would be difficult for Microsoft to use domestically for tax reasons.

The press is speculating that Microsoft is acquiring Minecraft so it can tap into a cultural phenomenon and entice players to Microsofts platforms.

Editors Note:

I dont buy either explanation.

Xbox is already a cultural phenomenon, as is Halo and Skype. Microsoft doesnt need another property to create brand awareness. Moreover, Minecraft is like Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga still popular, still recognizable, but past the point of explosive growth. Microsoft would be buying an asset on the downward slope of the hype cycle.

Microsoft claims 90% of all paid customers have played Minecraft in the past year thats an impressive statistic.

A Great Asset At A Good Price

In Minecraft, Microsoft appears to have purchased an asset that will pay for itself in relatively short order and help the company strengthen its business outside of gaming. Mojang reported $126 million in profits on $259 million in sales in 2013.;That means that Microsoft paid roughly 20 times Mojang’s trailing earnings to acquire the developer in 2014 — a price that’s looking pretty nice in light of;Minecraft‘s continued performance.

The game’s sales and margins have likely gotten better since the acquisition based on unit sales growth and the addition of in-game purchases to the title.;When you factor in the potential for continued growth and the other ways that the game is an asset to the company, Microsoft made a great move acquiring Minecraft and Mojang.

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