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What Is Mojang? The Swedish Studio That Makes Minecraft

Mojang Studios is the Stockholm studio behind Minecraft, owned by Microsoft since a $2.5 billion deal in 2014. How it started, and what Mojang makes now.

By minecraft.bd Editorial Team·Updated

Mojang Studios is the Swedish video game studio that makes Minecraft. It’s based in Stockholm and has been owned by Microsoft since 2014, when Microsoft bought it for $2.5 billion. Before 2020 it was called Mojang AB.

How it started

Markus “Notch” Persson began writing Minecraft in his spare time in May 2009. The game sold well while still in alpha, and Persson set up Mojang as a company in 2010 with Jakob Porsér and Carl Manneh. Jens “Jeb” Bergensten joined as a developer and took over as lead designer at the end of 2011, after the game’s full release. The longer origin story is on our page about where Minecraft was developed.

The Microsoft deal

Microsoft announced it would buy Mojang in September 2014 for $2.5 billion, and the deal closed in November that year. Persson, Porsér and Manneh left with the sale. Mojang kept making Minecraft, and the game went on to grow far beyond where it was in 2014. In May 2020 the company took its current name, Mojang Studios.

What Mojang makes now

  • Minecraft, both Java and Bedrock editions, with new content released as several “game drops” a year. See the version history for the timeline.
  • Minecraft Education, the classroom version.
  • Spin-offs: Minecraft Dungeons (2020), Minecraft Legends (2023) and Minecraft Dungeons II (2026). Some were co-developed with other studios. Our spin-offs page covers each.

Mojang also works with partners on things it doesn’t build itself, such as the 2025 film A Minecraft Movie with Warner Bros. and Legendary, and licensed merchandise.

Mojang and fan sites

Mojang publishes usage guidelines that set out what fans can do with the Minecraft name and assets. Sites like this one are allowed to write about the game, as long as they’re clear they aren’t official. minecraft.bd is an independent fan site with no connection to Mojang or Microsoft; our editorial policy says more.

Common questions

Who owns Minecraft?

Microsoft. It bought Mojang, and with it Minecraft, for $2.5 billion in a deal that closed in November 2014. Mojang Studios still develops the game as part of Xbox.

Does Notch still work on Minecraft?

No. Markus Persson left Mojang when the Microsoft sale went through in 2014 and has had no role in the game since.

What does the name Mojang mean?

It's Swedish slang meaning roughly "gadget" or "thingamajig."

Sources & verification

Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.

Keep reading

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