Microsoft to Buy Minecraft Developer Mojang -- Report

Minecraft has been an indisputable gaming phenomenon since its release in 2011, but as the company has expanded beyond PC and onto consoles, the developer, Mojang, has maintained its independence. But that may be about to change very soon; the Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is in "serious discussions to buy Mojang AB."

According to "a person with knowledge of the matter," the WSJ writes that, "The deal would be valued at more than $2 billion and could be signed as early as this week."

The move would be particularly surprising following comments from Mojang's co-founder, Carl Manneh, last year. "We are living the dream, really," Manneh said. "An exit would be huge, but do we really need that money? In our case, we have the cash flow. We have more money than we need."

Minecraft is already available on PC, mobile, Xbox 360, and PS3, and it released just last week on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game continues to make it onto both digital and retail top 10 sales charts month after month. However, we do not have any indication on whether either Microsoft would continue multi-platform development if they did buy Mojang (or if Sony would allow a Microsoft game on their system).

When reached for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "We don’t comment on rumors or speculation."