Minecraft Acquisition by Microsoft Expected to be Announced Today

Word got out last week that Microsoft was looking to add another big-name title to its ever burgeoning library – Mojang’s Minecraft. The report was especially interesting considering creator Markus “Notch” Persson is famous for turning down offers from all kinds of companies. The acquisition deal was reported to be for $2 billion but Reuters is now reporting that it will cost $2.5 billion and could go down today.

Interestingly, it seems that Microsoft’s main case for picking up Minecraft is to expand on its Windows Phone and Surface platforms. Windows Phone occupies a very small share of the smartphone market currently – in fact, Minecraft isn’t even available for the OS since Persson believed the market was too small.

It’s still unconfirmed whether the deal will go down but Minecraft is one of the most successful gaming franchises of all time, selling more than 35 million units across its various platforms. How will the acquisition dictate the series’ direction going forward? We’ll find out later today.