Minecraft creator on Microsoft deal: 'It's all about my mental health'
Just after Microsoft announced that it would purchase Minecraft Mojang developer for $2.5bn, (PS1.5bn), Markus Persson, the Swedish developer behind Markus Persson - also known as Notch -- posted his own statement on the acquisition. Below is the complete statement.
Mojang is leaving me.
I do not consider myself a game developer. I create games for amusement and because I love programming. But I don’t intend to make them into huge success. I also don’t want to make a difference in the world.
Minecraft definitely became a massive success, and people are saying it's changed games. I didn't intend to change anything in the first place. It's a nice compliment, and it's interesting to see it slowly rise into the public spotlight.
A while ago, I made the choice to retire from Minecraft development. Jens was the perfect person to lead the project, and I was eager to explore things that were completely new. At first, I was unsuccessful in my attempt to create something huge again but since I've decided to stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges, I've had so lots of fun at work.
Although I wasn't sure what I could do to make it to Mojang where the actual work was conducted People told me that I was important for the culture and I decided to remain.
I was home with a bad cold a couple of weeks ago, when the internet exploded with rage against me because of some kind of EULA situation that I had nothing to do with. I was confused. I didn't understand. I tweeted this in frustration.
Then I watched the This is Phil Fish video on YouTube and began to realize I didn't have the connection with my fans that I believed I had. Robinson is back I've become a symbol. I do not want to be a figurehead, responsible for something huge that I don't know and do not want to tackle that keeps coming back to me. I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm not a CEO. I'm a geeky programmer who enjoys sharing my opinions on Twitter.
When the deal is concluded I will quit Mojang and continue to work on Ludum Dares and other small web-based experiments. If I make an error and it gains traction I'll probably drop it right away.
In light of the fact that the public image of me already has a skewed image, I don't expect to avoid negative comments by doing this, but at least now I don't feel the need to read them.
I'm aware this goes against the majority of what I've said in public. I have no good response to this. I'm also aware that a lot of you were using me as a symbol for an apparent struggle. I'm not. I'm a human being and I'm right there with you.
You are my best friend. Everyone of you. Thank you for creating Minecraft what it is today. But there are too many of us, and I am not responsible for something as huge as Minecraft. In one sense, it's belong to Microsoft now. In a more broad sense, it's belonged to everyone for a long time, and that's not going to change.
It's not about the money. It's about my mental health.