Notes

Minecraft Creator on Microsoft Deal: 'It's all about My Sanity'

Minecraft creator on Microsoft deal: 'It's about my sanity'



After it was announced that Microsoft was buying Minecraft Mojang developer for $2.5bn (PS1.5bn), the Swedish developer behind the title Markus Persson - known as Notch published his own personal statement on the acquisition. We have reproduced it in full below:



Mojang has left me



I don't consider myself to be a real game developer. yurock I create games for amusement and because I love programming. But I don't want to make them huge hits. I also don't want to make a mark on the world.



Minecraft was a huge success. People say it has changed their lives. I never intended for it to do either. It's certainly pleasing and to slowly get thrust into some kind of public spotlight is fascinating.



It was a long time back that I decided to quit Minecraft development. Jens was the ideal person to take over the helm of it, and I wanted to explore something new. While I tried to make it bigger again at first I failed. However, since I decided to stick to small prototypes, interesting problems have been solved, and I've had so much fun with my work,



I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do in Mojang where people did actual work, but when my friends said I was important for the culture, I decided to stay.



I was home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago when the internet went wild with rage against me because of an EULA situation which I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn't understand. I tweeted this in frustration.



Then, I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and realized I did not have the connection to my fans that I thought I did. I've become an image. I don't want to be a figurehead, responsible for something huge that I am unable to comprehend and do not want to work on that keeps coming back to me. I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm not a chief executive officer. I'm a geeky computer programmer who loves to share opinions on Twitter.



After the deal is concluded and I'm done, I'll be leaving Mojang to go back to web experiments and Ludum Dares. If I make something that appears to gain traction, I'll probably abandon it immediately.



Considering the public image of me is already a bit skewed I don't think I'll get away from negative comments through this however, at least for now I don't feel the need to read them.



I'm aware of this going against the majority of what I've spoken about in public. I don't have a good answer to that. I also realize that a lot of you have used me as a symbol for the perceived struggle. I'm not. I'm a person and I'm struggling with you.



I love you. You are all amazing. Thank you for making Minecraft into what it is now however there are far too many of you and I can't be accountable for something of this magnitude. In one sense, it's belong to Microsoft today. It's been a part your lives for a long time and will continue to be yours.



It's not about money. It's about my mental wellbeing.


Website: https://yurock.net/