If you’ve spent any time punching trees or dodging creepers lately, you might’ve wondered who actually signs the paychecks for the people making your favorite blocky world. Honestly, it’s one of those questions that seems simple until you start digging into the history of the Swedish studio that changed gaming forever.
The short answer is easy: Microsoft is the owner of Mojang.
But that’s kinda like saying a massive skyscraper is just "made of glass." There is a whole lot of drama, a world-record-breaking sale, and a very stressed-out billionaire behind that statement.
The $2.5 Billion Question: Who Really Owns Mojang Today?
Since November 2014, Mojang Studios (they added the "Studios" part in 2020) has been a fully owned subsidiary of Microsoft. They fall specifically under the Microsoft Gaming division, which is the same umbrella that covers Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard.
It was a massive deal. Like, "change the industry forever" massive. Microsoft paid $2.5 billion in cash to buy the studio and the Minecraft IP. To put that in perspective, back then, people thought Microsoft was crazy. Why spend billions on a game that looks like it was made in the 90s?
Well, look at it now. Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies. It's basically the digital version of LEGO, and Microsoft is sitting on top of the mountain.
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Why did the original owners sell?
You can't talk about who is the owner of Mojang without talking about Markus "Notch" Persson. He was the face of the company. He founded Mojang Specifications in 2009 and owned the lion's share of the business—about 71%.
But by 2014, Notch was burnt out. He famously posted a tweet asking if anyone wanted to buy his shares because he couldn't handle the pressure of being the "symbol" for such a massive global phenomenon. He just wanted to be a "nerdy computer programmer who likes to have opinions on Twitter."
Microsoft, seeing a golden opportunity, swooped in. Notch, along with co-founders Jakob Porsér and Carl Manneh, took the money and walked away. Notch personally pocketed about $1.8 billion from the deal.
How Microsoft Runs the Show in 2026
Even though Microsoft is the big boss, Mojang Studios still feels surprisingly independent. They aren't just a tiny office in Stockholm anymore, though. They’ve expanded like a sprawling Minecraft base, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai, and even Redmond, Washington (right near Microsoft’s main campus).
Microsoft’s approach has been "hands-off but eyes-on." They don't micromanage every update, but they definitely ensure Minecraft stays on every possible device.
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The Corporate Family Tree
If you want to get technical about the hierarchy, it looks sort of like this:
- Microsoft Corporation (The Parent Company)
- Microsoft Gaming (Led by CEO Phil Spencer)
- Xbox Game Studios (The publishing label)
- Mojang Studios (The actual developer)
Currently, Kayleen Walters is the Studio Head at Mojang, reporting to Helen Chiang. It’s a far cry from the days when three guys were sitting in a small Swedish office trying to figure out how to make a pig explode.
What Happened to the Original Owners?
People always ask if Notch is still involved. The answer is a very firm no.
Microsoft actually went to great lengths to distance the brand from him. After some controversial comments he made on social media, his name was mostly scrubbed from the game’s splash screens. He wasn't even invited to the 10th-anniversary celebration.
As of early 2026, Notch has been messing around with new projects. He recently teased something called Levers and Chests, which is more of an old-school dungeon crawler than a "Minecraft 2." He's living the billionaire life in Beverly Hills, but he has zero say in what happens to your Diamond Pickaxe.
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Why Ownership Matters for the Players
You might think, "Who cares who owns it as long as I can play?" But the Microsoft ownership is the only reason Minecraft hasn't died out.
An indie studio—even a rich one—would have struggled to maintain servers for hundreds of millions of players or negotiate deals for A Minecraft Movie (the one starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa). Microsoft has the "infinite money glitch" required to keep the game updated for decades.
A Few Surprising Facts About the Ownership:
- Platform Neutrality: Microsoft is a competitor to Sony and Nintendo, yet they still let Minecraft run on PlayStation and Switch. Why? Because the money from those sales is too good to pass up.
- The Rebrand: The 2020 name change to "Mojang Studios" was specifically to show that they are now a multi-project company, working on things like Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends.
- Independence: Despite being owned by a US giant, the heart of the game is still very much Swedish. Most of the core creative decisions still happen in Stockholm.
Your Next Steps: Keeping Up With the Blocks
If you're looking to dive deeper into how Mojang operates under its current owners, your best bet is to watch the Minecraft Live events held annually. That's where Microsoft and Mojang show their cards and explain where the franchise is headed next.
You can also check out the official Mojang Studios website or follow Phil Spencer on social media; he's surprisingly vocal about how Minecraft fits into the broader Xbox strategy. Whether you love the corporate oversight or miss the "indie" days, there's no denying that the Microsoft-Mojang partnership is one of the most successful marriages in tech history.