Microsoft rang Mojang the day Notch joked about selling
Minecraft developer Mojang was sold because founder Markus "Notch" Persson made a joke on Twitter.
Ever wondered how Minecraft came to be a Microsoft property? It's actually a pretty great story.
Remember when Notch tweeted this?
Notch was probably joking at that point, but if he was fishing, he got a lot of bites. According to Forbes, Mojang CEO Carl Manneh received a call from Microsoft 30 seconds after he saw the tweet - at home, not the office. Five months later, the deal was finalised.
Besides the obvious lure of the property, Microsoft had another reason for picking up Mojang; it allowed it to use some of a $93 billion cash reserve it can't bring home to the US without paying a massive chunk of change to the tax man.
Microsoft wasn't the only bidder - Activision, EA and other companies were on the horn within the week, expressing interest in the Swedish indie behind the cultural phenomenon that is Minecraft.
The Forbes link above is a great read, giving insight into Persson and his meteoric rise to unwanted, burdensome Internet fame.
Thanks, Polygon.