Another great acquisition is on its way. Microsoft Corporation, one of the bigwigs in the technological industry, is acquiring Mojang, the Swedish developer for the widely acclaimed video game Minecraft.
Mojang AB, a Swedish independent video game developer was founded by Markus Persson, Jakob Porser and Carl Manneh last May 2009. They are the brains behind the hit video game Minecraft. By March 2012, the company had already earned $80 million. On September 15, 2014, Microsoft announced the purchase of Mojang for a whooping $2.5 billion and expected to be finalized by late 2014. The three founders of Mojang were said to be leaving the company.
According to Microsoft, they have "acquired Mojang and the iconic Minecraft franchise. We're honored to partner with them to carry Minecraft forward."
Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, is an American multinational corporation whose headquarters is in Washington. The company specialized in developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting computer software and electronics. Microsoft is known for their widespread system Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer. It is currently the world's biggest software maker. In 1986, the company went public and launched its initial public offering.
The head of Microsoft's Xbox who pioneered the Minecraft deal also helped broker the purchase of the Gears of War franchise last January from Epic Games. Epic Games is an American video game development company based in North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeny under the name Potomac Computer Systems. They replaced their name with Epic MegaGames following the release of their flagship product ZZT.
It seems that the next big thing in Silicon Valley is purchasing franchises. Apple purchased Beats and now Microsoft is purchasing Minecraft. Companies are not putting value on what's hot in the market and cultivating it further. It is important to keep the quality while continuing to develop market expectations on the product.
