Mojang Reassures Minecraft Fans About Microsoft Deal

Mojang reassures Minecraft fans about Microsoft deal

The boss of Minecraft-maker Mojang has reassured fans worried about what will happen when Microsoft takes over. robinson's blog

In mid-September, Microsoft announced a $2.5bn (PS1.5bn), deal to acquire Mojang.

Vu Bui was the chief operating officer of Mojang.

Feedback from players would still be crucial in helping to develop the game, he said.

"Nothing's really changing," said Mr Bui. " "We don't have any plans to change and, of course I can't talk much about the deal and I don’t know everything, but we’re still here, and the game's still there and it's business like usual."

Open view

Mojang had always sought to preserve the original impetus that helped to make the game so popular, he said.

He said, "Maintaining the original culture is really hard." "It's about a culture that respects and allows the community to do whatever they want with the game and make the game their own.

"It is absolutely the intention, as it has always been, to continue with this," he said to the BBC during a BBC interview at London's Olympia exhibition center, where he was giving a keynote address at the Brand Licensing Europe trade fair.

While Mr Bui acknowledged that the deal is "still in the making", he stated that Mojang wanted to continue working closely and collaborating with its vast community of players.

Many fans of the block-building game have expressed fears about what will happen once Microsoft is in ultimate control.

Markus Persson aka Notch, the Minecraft inventor, wrote about his reasons for approaching Microsoft. He stated that he was giving it over because it had become too burdensome for him to run.

He wrote shortly after details were made public that "I cannot be responsible for something so big."

He said, "It's about my sanity. It's not about money." "It's about my sanity."

Mr Bui said there would undoubtedly be some changes in the future, but these would still be done with the input, comments and feedback of fans.

The current system in which Minecraft developers share their work long before it is added would be maintained.

He said, "We don't keep our features secret."

This openness would also operate as Mojang started to show off the new titles developers were working on, even though the studio was not yet ready to talk specifics, he said.

Mojang said that players would be able to play early versions of games when they are ready. This would help the creators refine and market the game.

Mojang decided to use a similar approach with Minecraft. It was proven to be beneficial to developers working on a project.

It wasn't about trying to duplicate the success of Minecraft to create another title that was as popular. It was more about faith in the overall approach, said Mr Bui.

He said, "We believe that model." "Regardless of your art form people should definitely put their energy into what they believe in, regardless of whether it will be successful.

He added, "That's an admirable effort."

Mojang said the same thing. He believed that anyone trying to control or manipulate the Minecraft community to dictate what can and can be done with it was a mistake.

He said it was much better to just get out the way.

"People are at their most creative sometimes when you just let them do what they want," said Mr Bui. "You have to give them guidelines, but for the most part if you let people be creative they will come up with cooler stuff than we ever could ourselves."

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