Markus Persson hands over reins of indie hit to Jens Bergensten, plans to stay on dev team but also work on "new project."
Markus "Notch" Persson is a name that has become intrinsically tied to the Mojang-developed sensation Minecraft. However, with Minecraft seeing full release for the PC on November 18, Notch is now stepping aside as lead developer on the game.
In a post to his blog this morning, Persson confirmed that Jens Bergensten took over lead developer duties yesterday. Persson also sought to reassure Minecraft devotees, saying that he and Bergensten have a similar vision as to where the game should go.
"We've been working together on Minecraft for a year now, and I'm amazed at how much in sync we two are when it comes to how to design the game," he said. "And when we don't agree, we discuss it, and something much better comes out at a result. He's truly a great person to work with, and I feel very confident handing over the leadership of Minecraft to him."
Persson won't be vacating Minecraft development altogether, but he will be taking a vacation. Once back, he also plans to start working on "some new project."
Beyond Minecraft, Mojang's only other known projects are Scrolls and Cobalt, which is being codeveloped with Oxeye Game Studio. Currently the subject of a legal spat with Bethesda Softworks, Scrolls draws elements of its gameplay from collectible card games and board games.
Minecraft is expected to be available for the Xbox 360 in early 2012. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review of the PC version.
Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.
Jeb has been in charge of Minecraft for a while now, this isn't a surprise. I think Minecrafts a fun game but I feel like they could easily accomplish so much more if they had more organization. And hell, it's Java. I just smell laziness all over it, there is no excuse for bugs and missing features. I faintly remember rabbits eating grass and features like that.
its been jeb's game for alot longer than its been notch's for a good while now so its about time
@Bad-company whats his weight have to do about anything? and as far as i know he created the game, so who should have been lead? sometimes when you make an indie game it becomes larger than a one man project, and the creator needs help, and has to call on help... i am glad he got the help, cause i remember when minecraft before he got help...
He shouldn't of been lead anyway. He's a fat idiot who forced everyone else to do the game for him while he was always on vacation and claimed all the money anyways. No, he's not talented and he's a terrible dev. He can't even program in Java correctly.
Well, Jeb has my full support, he's actually going to try and add mod support, which is something Notch should have done years ago.
I solute you,Notch. You lead development on a game where you dig so you can hide,and hide so you can dig,and yet,that simple concept is painfully fun and addicting. If I knew what you looked like,I'd construct a giant statue of you in Minecraft on my stronghold island,The Isle of Flux. But since I don't,I'll just go back to slaying pigs and zombies,and say that it's in your honor.
Apparently Notch decided to go do something else because he likes the early parts of projects where progress is fast and easy but not the work of actually finishing them. What a crock.
I think Jens will do fine as lead,he basicly did half of the minecraft updates anyway so good luck Jebs and Notch Good luck on beating skyrim XD.
@Cwagmire21 Yeah. I guess if he wants to become a bigger player in the game industry, he needs to produce more hit games, though. Mojang needs a legacy of hits to be viewed as more than just a lucky indie team, I think.
Since it's been established that he's playing more Skyrim, do you think he uses the Notched Pickaxe when mining?
After Mojang charged $7 for a bare-bones, Alpha build of Minecraft on iOS, I could not care less. It is sad to see an indie company get some success and then let it go to their heads.
Jeb seems to be a much better developer and more open to ideas than Notch who has a set idea in his head and doesn't care what others like. So Go Jeb! :D
@LUMIN4RY a noob :) Notch made the first concepts(well, he copied them from infiniminer, removed co op, tweaked stuff, got out on the internet, got lotsa money that allowed him to continue), then Jeb came and did most of the stuff... Hail to the notch everybody!
I know it's been in beta for two years, but it seems odd to have the main guy step down so soon after release 1.0... :?
Mojang cofounder Markus Persson says company no longer underground in some respects and that "It's become hip to pay for indie games."
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