Mojang founders keen to stay small, retain indie spirit

Minecraft developer Mojang isn't expected to grow into a mega-studio despite its phenomenal successes, because the team wants to retain its independent approach and atmosphere.

Speaking to Develop, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson said he has anxieties about Mojang turning into a different kind of company.

"I hope we can keep the spirit for as long as possible. The atmosphere is usually very relaxed in the office, and we don't have any middle management or anything like that," he said.

"I worry about growing, as that could change the mood to something else, so I want us to keep focusing on not making super polished games, as those require larger teams."

Co-founder Jakob Porser, who threw his lot in with Persson as Minecraft began to take off so the pair could work on the kinds of games they chose for themselves, seems to agree, and perhaps even to regret the amount of growth the company has enjoyed so far.

"At first, we all said that Mojang would never grow beyond 8 people, We later came to realise that this plan wouldn't be possible to maintain. Minecraft was simply growing way too fast and becoming way too successful," he said.

"We still do not want to become a massive company however, and that ties into our protective side about the company culture. The people at Mojang are a second family to me and I want to keep it that way."

Porser, lead developer of upcoming card battler Scrolls, said he could not have predicted Mojang's current state two years ago, and is uncertain about its future.

"We will just keep running I guess and hopefully, we will manage to make a few good decisions along the way," he said.

As well as Minecraft and Scrolls, Mojang is publishing Cobalt, and Notch is hard at work on new project 0x10c.

Thanks, GamePolitics.