Mojang

Mojang AB (from Swedish mojäng; Template:IPA-sv; Template:Literal translation)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Reuters: Private">Template:Cite web</ref> is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The company was founded as Mojang Specifications in 2009 by Markus Persson, and transformed into Mojang AB in 2010 with Jakob Porsér. Mojang is best known for creating Minecraft (released in 2011), the best-selling video game of all time. In November 2014, Mojang became part of Microsoft Studios (now known as Xbox Game Studios).

History

Name predecessor (2003–2007)

Swedish video game designers Rolf Jansson and Markus Persson, who is otherwise known as Notch, started development on Wurm Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, in 2003.<ref name="Shacknews: Wurm Online">Template:Cite web</ref> As the game started turning a profit in 2007, Jansson and Persson incorporated their business as Mojang Specifications AB.<ref name="Xsolla">Template:Cite web</ref> However, Persson left the project that same year and wished to reuse the company's name, wherefore Jansson renamed the company Onetoofree AB, and later Code Club AB.<ref name="Shacknews: Wurm Online" /><ref name="Xsolla" />

Minecraft and formation (2009–2010)

In 2009, Persson began working on a clone of Infiniminer, a game developed by Zachtronics and released earlier that year.<ref name="TechRadar: History">Template:Cite web</ref> Persson used assets and parts of the engine code he had created for an earlier project, RubyDung, and presented first prototypes of the game through videos uploaded to YouTube, starting in May that year.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> The first alpha version of the game, now titled Minecraft, was released on 17 May 2009, followed by pre-orders for the full release being accepted from 13 June 2009, with Persson reusing the "Mojang Specifications" name for the game's release.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /><ref name="PCGamesN: Earth">Template:Cite web</ref> All sales ran directly through MinecraftTemplate:'s website, wherefore Persson did not have to split income with third parties.<ref name="Time: Profit">Template:Cite web</ref> In less than a month, Minecraft had generated enough revenue for Persson to take time off his day job to dedicate more of his schedule to developing Minecraft, and by May 2010, he was able to quit his day job entirely.<ref name="TechRadar: History" />

In September 2010, Persson travelled to Bellevue, Washington, to the offices of video game company Valve, for "a cup of coffee".<ref name="Engadget: Valve">Template:Cite web</ref> At the offices, Persson took part in a programming exercise and met with Gabe Newell, before being offered a job at the company.<ref name="Engadget: Valve" /> He turned down the offer, instead calling Jakob "JahKob" Porsér, whom Persson had known for five years, via Skype to ask whether he wanted to help him establish a business out of Mojang Specifications, to which Porsér replied that he would quit his job the following day.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /><ref name="MCV: History">Template:Cite web</ref> Subsequently, Persson and Porsér incorporated Mojang Specifications as Mojang AB.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> As both wished to focus on game development rather than business, Mojang hired Carl Manneh, the manager of jAlbum, Persson's previous employer, as chief executive officer.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /><ref name="MCV: History" /> Other significant hires included Daniel "Kappische" Kaplan as business developer, Markus "Junkboy" Toivonen as art director and Jens "Jeb" Bergensten as lead programmer.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /><ref name="MCV: History" />

Continued growth (2011–2013)

On 12 January 2011, Minecraft reached one million registered accounts, a number which rose to ten million within the next six months.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> The continued success led Mojang to start development of a new version of Minecraft for mobile devices.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> Due to the incompatibility with MinecraftTemplate:'s Java framework on mobile devices, the new version was programmed in C++ instead.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> Another version, initially developed for Xbox 360, was outsourced to Scotland-based developer 4J Studios and also created using C++.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> In March 2011, Mojang announced Scrolls, a digital collectible card game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mojang's attempt to trademark the game's name resulted in a lawsuit with ZeniMax Media, who owned the trademark for The Elder Scrolls series, over the two titles' similarity.<ref name="Kotaku: Lawsuit" /> In August, Mojang hired artist Henrik Pettersson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Minecraft was finally released out of beta in November 2011, with the announcement taking place on-stage at MineCon, the game's dedicated convention event.<ref name="TechRadar: History" />

In 2011, Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster and former president of Facebook, offered to invest in Mojang, but was turned down.<ref name="Game Informer: Parker">Template:Cite web</ref> Mojang ruled out being sold or becoming a public company to maintain the independence, which was said to have heavily contributed to MinecraftTemplate:'s success.<ref name="Reuters: Private" /><ref name="MCV: History" /> By March 2012, Minecraft had sold five million copies, amounting to Template:US$ in revenue.<ref name="Game Informer: Parker" /> In November, the company had 25 employees.<ref name="MCV: History" /> In total, Mojang earned Template:US$ in revenue in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2013, Mojang released an education-focused version of Minecraft for Raspberry Pi devices, and, after the exclusivity clause penned with Microsoft over the availability of the game's console edition on Microsoft's platforms expired, announced editions of the game for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> In October 2013, Manneh's twin brother, Jonas Mårtensson, formerly of gambling game company Betsson, was hired as Mojang's vice-president.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For the year 2013, Mojang recorded a total revenue of Template:US$, including Template:US$ profit.<ref name="Time: Profit" />

Sale to Microsoft (2014–present)

By 2014, Persson wished to no longer have to bear the pressure of being the owner of Minecraft; in a tweet published in June, he asked whether anyone would be willing to buy his share in Mojang to "move on with my life".<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> Several parties expressed interest in buying the company, including Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts, but Mojang chose Microsoft as a result of the two companies' previous partnerships.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /> Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella also stated that HoloLens was a major reason for Microsoft to acquire Mojang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Microsoft announced that they were purchasing Mojang for Template:US$ on 15 September 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The deal closed on 15 November, with Mojang joining the Microsoft Studios label.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Persson, Porsér and Manneh left Mojang alongside the acquisition, of which Manneh was succeeded by Mårtensson.<ref name="TechRadar: History" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Every employee who stayed at the company for six months following the sale was awarded a bonus worth roughly Template:US$ after taxes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Scrolls was released out of beta on 11 December 2014.<ref name="Polygon: Scrolls">Template:Cite web</ref> Development of additional Scrolls content ceased in 2015.<ref name="Variety: Scrolls">Template:Cite web</ref> On 22 April 2016, Mojang released Crown and Council, a game entirely developed by Pettersson, for free for Microsoft Windows.<ref name="RPS: Crown and Council Release">Template:Cite web</ref> An update in January 2017 introduced Linux and macOS versions of the game.<ref name="RPS: Crown and Council Update">Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2018, Mojang stopped support for ScrollsTemplate:' online services.<ref name="Variety: Scrolls" /> In June 2018, the game was re-released as a free-to-play game under the name Caller's Bane, adding support for player-run servers.<ref name="PCGamesN: Caller's Bane">Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2018, Mojang announced Minecraft Dungeons, a dungeon crawl-style spin-off of Minecraft to be released for Microsoft Windows in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Polygon: Dungeons">Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2019, Mojang announced the release of Minecraft Classic, the original browser-based version of Minecraft from 2009, available free-to-play, as well as Minecraft Earth an augmented reality spin-off in the vein of Pokémon Go.<ref name="PCGamesN: Classic">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="PCGamesN: Earth" /> By this point, Minecraft had sold 147 million copies, making it the best-selling video game of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Games developed

Year	Title	Genre(s)	Platform(s)	Ref.
2011	Minecraft	Sandbox	Android, Fire OS, iOS, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Raspberry Pi, tvOS, Wii U, Windows Phone, Xbox 360, Xbox One	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014	Caller's Bane (originally Scrolls)	Digital collectible card game	Android, macOS, Microsoft Windows	<ref name="Polygon: Scrolls" /><ref name="PCGamesN: Caller's Bane" />
2016	Crown and Council	Strategy	Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows	<ref name="RPS: Crown and Council Release" /><ref name="RPS: Crown and Council Update" />
2019	Minecraft Classic	Sandbox	Browser	<ref name="PCGamesN: Classic" />
	Minecraft Earth	Augmented reality	Android, iOS	<ref name="PCGamesN: Earth" />
2020	Minecraft Dungeons	Dungeon crawler	Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One	<ref name="Polygon: Dungeons" />

Game jam games

In 2012, Mojang partnered with Humble Bundle to launch Mojam, a game jam that would raise money for charity.<ref name="Kotaku: Mojam">Template:Cite web</ref> As part of Mojam, Mojang developed shoot 'em up game called Catacomb Snatch.<ref name="Kotaku: Mojam" /> 81,575 bundles were sold, raising Template:US$.<ref name="Kotaku: Mojam" /> The following year, in Mojam 2, three mini-games were developed by Mojang simultaneously.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mojang also signed up for Humble Bundle's Games Against Ebola game jam in 2014, again developing three games.<ref name="Gamasutra: Games Against Ebola" />

Year	Title	Event	Ref.
2012	Catacomb Snatch	Mojam	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2013	Nuclear Pizza War	Mojam 2	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Endless Nuclear Kittens
	Battle Frogs
2014	Docktor	Games Against Ebola	<ref name="Gamasutra: Games Against Ebola">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Healthcore Evolved
	Snake Oil Stanley

Unreleased games

Until July 2012, Mojang was co-developing a first-person shooter video game codenamed Rex Kwon Do in collaboration with an undisclosed developer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Persson stated that the project was cancelled so that Mojang could focus on the games they own themselves.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2012, Persson revealed that he would be designing a sandbox space trading and combat simulator in the likes of Elite.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Persson detailed in April that the game's title was 0x10^c and that it would be set in the year 281,474,976,712,644 AD of a parallel universe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 2013, Persson announced that the game was shelved due to him no longer being interested in the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Games published

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Developer(s)	Ref.
2016	Cobalt	Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One	Oxeye Game Studio	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	Cobalt WASD	Microsoft Windows		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legal disputes

Scrolls naming dispute

In August 2011, after Mojang had attempted to trademark "Scrolls" for their game, ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, the company behind The Elder Scrolls, sent Mojang a cease and desist letter, claiming that Mojang's Scrolls infringed on ZeniMax' "The Elder Scrolls" trademark, because of which Mojang could not use the name for their game, and that ZeniMax would sue them over its usage.<ref name="Kotaku: Lawsuit">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Persson offered to give up Mojang's trademark and add a subtitle to ScrollsTemplate:' name, however, as Mojang ignored the cease and desist letter for the general Scrolls name, ZeniMax filed the lawsuit the following September.<ref name="Kotaku: Lawsuit" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bethesda's Pete Hines stated that Bethesda and its developers were not responsible for the lawsuit, but that the issue was exclusively centred around "lawyers who understand it".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mojang won an interim injunction in October, the ruling being that Scrolls and The Elder Scrolls were too easy to differentiate, though ZeniMax still had the possibility to appeal the ruling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2012, Mojang and ZeniMax settled, with all "Scrolls" trademarks and trademark applications being transferred to ZeniMax, who would in turn licence the trademark to Mojang for use with Scrolls and add-on content, but not for sequels to the game or any other game by a similar name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uniloc USA, Inc. et al v. Mojang AB

On 20 July 2012, Uniloc, a company specialising in digital rights management, filed a lawsuit against Mojang, stating that the licence verification in Minecraft: Pocket EditionTemplate:'s Android version infringed on Uniloc's patents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The case was Uniloc USA, Inc. et al v. Mojang AB and was filed with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In response to hate mail sent to Uniloc founder Ric Richardson, Richardson denied his own personal involvement, claiming to have only filed the patent and that the lawsuit against Mojang was not by his doing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The patent involved in the dispute was invalidated in March 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website