Markus 'Notch' Persson has revealed that he made the "tough decision" to reject a job offer from Valve while we was working on Minecraft.
In an extract from the book Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus 'Notch' Persson and the Game that Changed Everything which has been republished by AllThingsD; Persson revealed his visit to Valve.
The trip happened while the beta version of Minecraft was beginning to gain popularity. Having toured Valve's studio and meeting Gabe Newell he was led to a small room where a HR staffer talked to him.
According to the book:
"[Persson] told him a little about himself and his plans for Minecraft before realising that he was in the middle of a job interview".
Persson answered a few questions before being asked if he would like to work at Valve and "answered politely but firmly, no".
Speaking about why he turned down the job offer he said, "Somehow, I felt that Minecraft was maybe my chance to create a Valve, rather than work at Valve,"
Minecraft has since sold 33 million copies across all platforms with PS3, PS Vita, PS4, and Xbox One versions all on the way. Of those, the PS3 edition will be released first.