Minecraft Now Officially to Become Part of Microsoft

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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News reports were out last week that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) was trying to acquire Mojang, the Swedish game developer behind Minecraft. That deal is now being confirmed — for a sum of $2.5 billion. The big question to ask now is if this sets up the Xbox unit to become an independent company via a spin-off or by other means.

Microsoft’s announcement said that the company expects the acquisition to be break-even in its 2015 results. The acquisition is also expected to close in late 2014.

Mojang is about more than just Minecraft. The founders are moving on to start new projects as well. Microsoft plans to continue to make Minecraft available across all the platforms on which it is available today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and PlayStation.

Here are some of the official statistics about Minecraft:

  • More than 100 million downloads, on PC alone, by players since its launch in 2009
  • The most popular online game on Xbox
  • The top paid app for iOS and Android in the United States
  • More than 2 billion hours the Minecraft community has played on Xbox 360 alone in the past two years
  • Nearly 90% of paid customers on the PC having signed in within the past 12 months

The Mojang team will join Microsoft Studios, which includes the studios behind global blockbuster franchises Halo, Forza, Fable and more. Microsoft’s investments in cloud and mobile technologies will enable Minecraft players to benefit from richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools and more opportunities to connect across the Minecraft community.

Microsoft has a market cap of $385 billion, and its $46.69 share price compares to a 52-week range of $32.15 to $47.02.

READ ALSO: Top Stocks That Will See Huge Buying in S&P Index Quarterly Rebalancing

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About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

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