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Minecraft is not just a game but a platform for creativity. For anyone who has watched a young game enthusiast actually play Minecraft, however, those numbers are secondary to the devotion — and therefore the potential future growth — involved in the game. The number of users who have downloaded and installed the game recently crossed the100 million mark, and that figure has been growing at rates that are almost unheard of for some time, even with other massively popular games like Tetris.
Financially speaking, the deal looks to be within the normal range for such acquisitions, at least in this somewhat over-heated tech environment, and taking into account Microsoft’s desire to expand its Xbox gaming division. Mojang had revenue of $330 million last year and a profit of $130 million, which makes the sale price about7.5 times revenues. Many analysts say the game should fit in fairly well with the software giant’s other franchises, such as Halo or Age of Empires.
Hopefully, Minecraft’s story will encourage more developers — and in fact content creators of all kinds — to focus less on the money-making aspects of their creations and more on giving users the tools to create a community, one that can exercise its own creative impulses. That’s where the true magic lies.