The rumor that's been growing and growing in the past several days turned out to be true: Microsoft is purchasing Mojang, makers of Minecraft, for $USD 2,500,000,000. Official statements: Mojang, Notch (mirror), Microsoft, press release.

The Minecraft development team, including Jeb, is still there. Only Notch, Carl and Jakob (co-founders and company heads) have left, so this won't have any impact on the game on the short term. Now, of course, what does this mean for the game and the Creeper's Lab?

First and foremost, the MC team is still there. They'll keep on working on new game versions. Microsoft representatives have said that they intend to keep the game available (and continue to work) for other platforms as well, and I see no reason to believe otherwise: a large potion of the Minecraft profits come for the console and mobile versions.

Of course, down the line, things will change in a way or another. There have been other transitions before, many of them causing apprehension:
- Mojang's creation as a business ("Notch is going corporate!")
- Jeb taking over as lead developer ("Will he do the right thing?")
- The release of Minecraft 1.0 ("Will the updates soon stop?")
- Notch stepping away from the game ("We're doomed!")
- Microsoft purchasing Mojang (cue current comments)

My point is, things have been (mostly) fine overall, and I believe that this latest step will follow in the same way once the dust has settled.

I'm relatively hopeful that this will help the game grow even more over time. Microsoft can add support for even more platforms, ensure that the game remains compatible with future Windows versions (one of the largest markets), and their games division has traditionally been good at ensuring long-term support. At worst, Microsoft will let the game stagnate and the current versions will remain available. The community itself is so active, and has pushed the game in so many directions, that Minecraft will never really die.

As for the Creeper's Lab? We're here, the server is running, an update to 1.8 will happen when ready, I have plans for growth and we'll see from there, as usual. I'm not planning any changes in light of these news, and I'm looking forward to more years of mining and crafting! :-) Speaking of the 1.8 update, those looking for more information on that might want to check my recent forum post.

And hey, some people are having fun with this situation.

Long live Minecraft!