Microsoft acquired Mojang in 2014 for approximately $2.5 billion, adding Minecraft to Xbox.
Mojang was founded in Sweden in 2009 by Markus Persson, also known as Notch. Its breakout game, Minecraft, began as a block-building sandbox project and grew into one of the best-selling video games in history. Microsoft announced the acquisition in September 2014 and completed it later that year.
The purchase brought Mojang into Microsoft Studios, now known as Xbox Game Studios. Minecraft continued to be released on platforms beyond Xbox, including PlayStation, Nintendo systems, mobile devices, and personal computers. That cross-platform strategy helped preserve the game’s broad global audience.
People sometimes confuse Mojang with the Minecraft brand itself. Mojang was the developer and company acquired; Minecraft was the game and intellectual property that made the deal strategically important. Markus Persson, Jakob Porser, and Carl Manneh founded Mojang, but they left the company after the acquisition.