Microsoft (MSFT) has announced that it will buy Mojang, the company behind Minecraft, for $2.5 billion.
Microsoft said that the deal to purchase Mojang will be finished by the end of 2014. The company also said that it plans to continue to support the game and that it will still be available on PC, Apple’s (AAPL) iOS, Google’s (GOOG) Android, Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation and Xbox, reports Reuters.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that “Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform” that will provide the company and the game’s community with “new opportunities.” The company expects the deal to break-even in fiscal 2015, Reuters notes.
Microsoft’s $2.5-billion deal to acquire Mojang doesn’t include some of the company’s most important staff. Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, won’t be staying with the company after the acquisition. Another two of Mojang’s co-founders, Carl Manneh, and Jakob Porser, are also leaving the company before the deal is finished, reports The Wall Street Journal.
MSFT stock was down slightly as of noon Monday.
