Selling Minecraft - How do you react if someone offers you $2.5Billons...

Hello Forumers,

I recently discovered the Mojang is being buyed by Microsoft.

Notch as always been a Vanguard of the Indie Mouvment and Community, and still, he decided to catch the prize from one of the biggest compagnies out there.
In fact, rumors tells that HE went to them to sell Mojang and collect the prize.

What do you think about this ? Betrayal ? Opportunism ? Reason ? Perfectly planned scheme ?

How would you react if a $2.5Billion just fall on your feets but it would require to go to the other side of the line to pick-it up ?

Let's discuss !
I want Action ! Drama ! Betrayl ! Suspens ! Horror !

Didn't Notch leave Mojang after this?

Yes: http://notch.net/2014/09/im-leaving-mojang/

I don't think there's any sort of betrayal going on, or that there's some sort of war frontline between Indie and Published game development.

Can't say I blame the guy. There's not a lot I wouldn't do fo $2.5bn.

EDIT: leaving in the typo because it makes me sound badass.

Take the money, leave and do something else fun. Perfectly reasonable. Does notch actually still like PA? Uber could use some more money

I think it is good. Mojang didn't seem to put alot of effort into minecraft anyway despite the huge potential it has.

I'm kinda surprised that they're keeping support for the Sony console versions of Minecraft.

I don't think it would be particularly easy just to take it away.

It's pretty weird how someone so vocal about indie games decides to embrace one of the largest software companies in the world.

Sony could easily just lock/remove the content and refunded those who bought the game.
Then again, it's already impossible to refund PSN dollars in general, so maybe it wouldn't be possible, I dunno.

Also, I don't think Notch's mind was thinking "Hmm, maybe I should weigh the moral pros and cons of going through with this, and think about how it could effect my image as an indie developer.", he was probably thinking "Two and a half BILLION DOLLARS?! MINE! SEE YA, FUCKERS!"

With that kind of money he actually might as well come up with some other idea he thinks is fun and just hire a full dev team to develop on it for the next 20 years...
Really the perfect indie developer is one who can freely develop whatever he/she wants because money is not an issue...

Whelp... many people would sell their friends and family for that sort of money. But sure thing the guy is a hypocrite.

In the blog, is was said that the pressure from owning such a licence became too big.
Now, if it is a life matter, what to do ?

Sell, to be able to refocus on something smaller without any constraints ?
Keep it to stick to your soul, but slowly decay in the process ?

I think none of this would be near an issue if:

1. People didn't like randomly hating on MS and in the process proving they know little about how the company functions, and

2. Notch hadn't spent most of his professional career taking massive dumps on Microsoft in any public venue possible.

Im not sure notch has done much development on minecraft even in a while.

Like he owns it, but other then that, he doesn't have much to do with it any more.

He handed development over to Jeb a while ago.

So he could work on Ace Of Spades I think, but then he gave that away entirely to the studio that made the music for Minecraft and Ace Of Spades.

I don't know how selling the company he is the main owner of makes him a hypocrite. He wasn't loving the stress, or the interactions any more. What you do when you are offered 2.5 billion dollars is take it and then move on to what you want to be doing.

It is his company. His IP. He is allowed, entitled, and certainly deserves to do what he wants to do.

But why selling the IP to the complete opposit of what an Indie Compagny is instead of just quit Mojang and all associated responsabilities ?

Would have left the Indie status intact while still earning benefits from it.
/Devil's Advocate
(I like being the Devil's Advocate...)