Minecraft was nearly sold to Activision Blizzard for $1.5 billion before Microsoft secured Mojang, says former CEO Bobby Kotick: "I almost bought it"

News
By published

Microsoft offered Notch $2.5 billion, however

Minecraft key art showing Steve holding a pickaxe.
(Image credit: Mojang)

Although Microsoft bought both Mojang and its sandbox game Minecraft back in 2014 for a whopping $2.5 billion, the company wasn't the only one to consider the purchase – Activision Blizzard also got close to buying them.

As much was speculated a decade ago, when reports of Activision Blizzard's (and EA's, too) interest in buying Minecraft were circulating around the web – but now, former CEO Bobby Kotick has confirmed that it was indeed one of his considerations years back. "I almost bought it," he admits in a recent podcast with Ari Emanuel and Elon Musk (thanks, GameSpot). He didn't only think about it, however – he actually made an offer.

"I had to spend five days in Stockholm with the guy who founded the company," he explains, referring to Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson. "We offered him $1.5 billion – and he said, 'By the way, I'm quitting, and my top leadership guys are all quitting.' And they only had 30 employees at the company… Like, we can't run your company." After meeting and discussing the offer, Notch called Kotick to reveal Microsoft's own proposal.

The Xbox company wanted to purchase Minecraft and, subsequently, Mojang, for $2.5 billion – a price tag that was likely too high for Activision Blizzard. "I said, 'I'll go airplane shopping with you, but you gotta take that offer,'" Kotick recalls.

Phil Spencer, who serves as the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, ultimately secured the deal to snag Mojang and Minecraft for the $2.5 billion proposed to Notch. Minecraft has now been a Microsoft game for over 10 years.

Kotick praises Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty as well, stating that he's done "a really great job" overseeing Minecraft following Microsoft's acquisition of the beloved sandbox gem and the developer behind it. In a way, one could argue that Minecraft sort of did end up being related to Activision Blizzard somehow, thanks to the Xbox Activision deal that was finally solidified in 2023 after nearly two years of legal battles.

As for Kotick himself, he left Activision Blizzard shortly after, following 32 years at the company – three decades that saw the Activision and Blizzard merge, as well as various other changes that altered the course of the gaming industry's history forever.

Microsoft's seemingly first IP crossover with Activision Blizzard is giving a Minecraft spinoff to the Candy Crush dev.

Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.