Mojang Studios

Mojang Studios is a developer and publisher.

Mojang Studios Webpage, Facebook

A Swedish development studio headquartered in Stockholm. Although Mojang Studios has worked on other games, it became a global phenomenon thanks to its biggest hit - Minecraft, the best-selling game in the world. Mojang Studios doesn't just develop games - it also acts as a publisher. Since November 2014, the studio has been part of Microsoft, with Jonas Martensson taking the lead.

History

The ancient times of Wurm Online

The origins of Mojang date back to 2007, when the MMORPG Wurm Online, developed by Markus “Notch” Persson and Rolf Jansson, began generating its first revenue. At that time, the developers founded Mojang Specifications, a company intended to oversee the continued development and support of the project. Shortly thereafter, Persson left the company, retaining the right to use the Mojang name, while Jansson, who continued work on Wurm Online, renamed the remaining studio Code Club.

The birth and spectacular success of Minecraft

In 2009, Persson started working on Minecraft under the Mojang Specifications name. Building on the code from Notch’s earlier project, RubyDung, the game launched as a paid alpha in June of that same year. Since the game was distributed exclusively through its official website, Persson did not have to share sales revenue with any external partners. In September 2010, Jakob Porser joined Persson, and Mojang Specifications was officially renamed Mojang. Over time, the studio expanded, and by November 2012, Mojang employed 25 people.

Minecraft steadily grew in popularity - by January 2011, it had its first million registered users, and just six months later, that number had soared by another nine million. Soon after, Mojang launched a mobile version and teamed up with Scotland’s 4J Studios to create the Xbox 360 edition, which hit stores in May 2012.

Scrolls and the conflict with ZeniMax Media

In March 2011, Markus Persson’s company unveiled its next project, a card game called Scrolls. Because the name was so similar to The Elder Scrolls series, its owner, ZeniMax Media, sued Mojang, and the dispute was eventually settled. As a result, Mojang gave up the rights to the Scrolls brand but kept the right to use the name for their game.

In November 2011, Minecraft officially launched after beta testing. Starting in December 2013, it expanded to more platforms, including Sony and Nintendo consoles, Xbox One, and even Raspberry Pi, which got a special educational edition. In October 2013, Jonas Martensson was named Vice President of Mojang.

Moving under Microsoft's wing

In 2014, Markus Persson announced that he wanted to sell his shares in Mojang. In the end, Microsoft stepped in as the buyer, officially taking over the studio on November 15, 2014 - after paying "Notch" $2.5 billion for his stake two months earlier. At that time, the aforementioned Jonas Martensson assumed the role of the company's CEO.

Although Mojang eventually became part of Microsoft Studios (now Xbox Game Studios), it kept developing Minecraft for platforms beyond just PC and Xbox consoles. It also oversaw additional projects. In December 2014, Scrolls left the beta phase; in 2015, Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series, developed in cooperation with Telltale Games (and followed by a sequel in 2017), debuted; and in April 2016, the studio released the free-to-play strategy game Crown and Council on PC. In February, Cobalt was released – a title developed by the independent studio Fatshark and published by Mojang.

In June 2018, Scrolls got a new name - Caller's Bane - and switched to a free-to-play model. In September 2018, a Minecraft spin-off titled Minecraft: Dungeons was announced, initially targeting PCs only.

Taking it down a "Notch"

In 2019, Microsoft started quietly removing references to Markus Persson from Minecraft, largely because of his controversial public statements. Notch became known not only for promoting various conspiracy theories, but also faced accusations of homophobia and racism, which further damaged his public image. Despite this, the brand continued to grow dynamically, and subsequent projects related to Minecraft continued to enjoy enormous popularity. Mojang Studios on the other hand, continued developing new projects. Minecraft: Dungeons launched on May 26, 2020, earning positive reviews from both players and critics. Buoyed by its success, Mojang went on to release two expansions: Jungle Awakens and Creeping Winter.

On May 17, 2019, Mojang unveiled Minecraft Earth, a mobile game that brought the blocky world to life using augmented reality technology. The game launched in Early Access in November 2019, and just a week later, the developers were already celebrating its big success. Ultimately, though, Minecraft: Dungeons enjoyed a much more lasting success than Minecraft: Earth with the former spawning several expansions, including Howling Peaks, Flames of the Nether, and Hidden Depths. While the latter project was also in development, it was announced in January 2021 that it would be shut down. This was largely blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns, which made it impossible for players to freely explore city streets together. Minecraft: Earth was officially set to be removed from distribution on June 30, 2021. Players who had spent money on microtransactions in Minecraft: Earth were compensated with a free copy of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition and Minecoins, the game’s virtual currency for the Minecraft Marketplace.

Rebranding

On May 17, 2020, Mojang officially rebranded itself as Mojang Studios. The rebranding aimed to better reflect the company’s structure, which by then consisted of several development teams. The team also received a new logo.

In the months that followed, Mojang Studios released another DLC for Minecraft Dungeons, titled Echoing Void, while also developing an entirely new project. This new project was Minecraft Legends, developed in collaboration with Blackbird Interactive. It was a hybrid of action and strategy, where players defend the Overworld from invaders from the Nether. It was scheduled for release on both PC and consoles.

Minecraft Legends debuted in April 2023. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a success. It earned “mixed” reviews on Steam, and according to Metacritic, industry media gave it an average score of 65-71/100, depending on the platform. The game also wasn't particularly popular. According to SteamDB, the game saw a peak of fewer than 5,500 concurrent players on Steam. To make matters worse, its popularity plummeted rapidly, and by late June / early July 2023, it drew almost no player interest.

In September 2023, Mojang Studios celebrated the success of Minecraft Dungeons. The studio announced that Minecraft Dungeons had been played by over 25 million players across all platforms. This milestone was clearly boosted by the game’s availability on Xbox Game Pass. Unfortunately, it was also announced that support for the game had ended, as the team planned to focus on new projects.