Mojang Studios
Mojang Studios is a Swedish video game company best known for making Minecraft. It was created by Swedish programmer Markus Persson, who is often called Notch. It is currently owned by Microsoft and is part of Xbox Game Studios. The word "Mojang" comes from Swedish and roughly means "gadget" or "small device".
The company started in Stockholm, Sweden as Mojang Specifications. Later, it was retitled Mojang AB, and in May 2020 it changed its name to Mojang Studios. At the same time, Mojang introduced a new logo and branding, showing that it had become a larger studio with more than one game and several offices.
History[change | change source]
Markus Persson started making an early version of Minecraft in Stockholm, Sweden. He first released the game to the public in May 2009. At that time, he used the name Mojang Specifications. The game became popular very quickly while it was still being tested. Because it was so successful, Persson started a real company called Mojang AB in September 2010. He did this with his friends Jakob Porsér and Carl Manneh. As more people began to play Minecraft, the company had to grow, so they hired more workers to help make the game better. They also worked hard to bring Minecraft to many different devices, like home computers and game consoles.
The massive success of Minecraft made Mojang highly valuable. On September 15, 2014, Microsoft announced that it would buy Mojang AB and the rights to Minecraft for 2.5 billion United States dollars. After the deal was made, Markus Persson left the company, and Mojang became part of Microsoft's game division, later known as Xbox Game Studios.
In May 2020, Mojang announced that it was changing its name to Mojang Studios. The new name and logo showed that the company now had multiple teams, several games, and studios in different parts of the world. At the same time, Mojang presented a new introduction sequence that plays when starting its games, using a playful style that matches Minecraft’s blocky look.
Offices[change | change source]
Mojang Studios is now owned by Microsoft and is part of Xbox Game Studios. It has hundreds of employees. The main office is still in Stockholm, Sweden. This is where the bosses make the most important decisions about the Minecraft games. Because Minecraft is played all over the world, the company has other smaller offices in different countries. These are located in: Redmond, Washington (United States of America); London, England; Shanghai, China; and Tokyo, Japan.
Games[change | change source]
Main games[change | change source]
- Minecraft – A sandbox game first made available to the public in 2009, where players can explore a world made of blocks, collect resources, craft items, and build structures.
- Caller's Bane – A tactical card-based role-playing game released in 2014, originally known as Scrolls.
- Cobalt – A 2D action game released in 2016, developed together with Oxeye Game Studio and published by Mojang.
- Crown and Council – A small turn-based strategy game released for Windows in 2016.
- Minecraft Earth – A mobile augmented-reality Minecraft game released in 2019; its support ended in June 2021.
- Minecraft Dungeons – A dungeon-exploration action game released in 2020, developed with Double Eleven.
- Minecraft Legends – An action–real-time strategy game released in 2023, developed with Blackbird Interactive.
Small games and game jams[change | change source]
Mojang has also created smaller games during charity events and game jams. For the Humble Bundle "Mojam" events, the company made short games such as Catacomb Snatch, Endless Nuclear Kittens, Nuclear Pizza War, and Battle Frogs. The money from selling these bundles was given to different charities, such as Child's Play. Mojang also worked on other small charity game projects, such as games made during "Games Against Ebola".
Legacy and impact[change | change source]
Mojang Studios has had a large impact on video games, especially through Minecraft, which grew into a large franchise with spin-off video games, books, toys, and other merchandise. Minecraft encouraged creativity, education, and community building, and it has been used in schools to teach subjects such as math, history, and computer science. Through Minecraft and its other projects, Mojang Studios made sandbox games popular and inspired many other developers.