Reuters reports that Microsoft and Mojang are poised to pen a deal for $ 2.5 billion. Furthermore, Microsoft seems interested in acuiring Mojang, and its IP Minecraft, primarily for Windows Phone, not Xbox or Windows 8.
Reuters’ report reveals that Microsoft has been struggling to raise the profile of its mobile platform on its own. They may be eyeing Minecraft as the potential killer app to finally raise its numbers.
In the last five years, 40 percent of Minecraft’s 54 million units sold were from mobile. In spite of this, because of the low userbase for Windows Phone, it was highly unlikely that the game would appear on it if Mojang was left on its own.
As Reuters also observed, while this is a relatively smaller acquisition for Microsoft, it is a large investment for a gaming company, regardless of platform. This is eight times the company’s numbers in 2013.
Neither Notch, Mojang, or Microsoft will comment on the story directly. However, Notch tweeted regarding playing with a webGL level editor for Doom, and streaming his mods on hitbox.tv. Notch even states at the end of his blog post that he does not have enough time to work on the renderer – because he is taking driving lessons.
Stay tuned to GameRanx for the latest news on Mojang and Minecraft.