Microsoft Near Deal to Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang

Apparently, Microsoft is in serious discussions to buy Mojang AB, the Swedish company behind the popular "Minecraft" videogame. The deal would be valued at more than $2 billion.

A sale would be a surprising turn for closely held Mojang, whose 35-year-old founder, Markus Persson, has shunned outside investment and is revered in the videogame community for railing publicly against big firms, including Microsoft. Meanwhile, "Minecraft" could reinvigorate Microsoft's 13-year-old Xbox videogame business by giving it a cult hit with a legion of young fans. Mojang has sold over 50 million copies of "Minecraft" since it was initially released in 2009 and earned more than $100 million in profit last year from the game and merchandise. The game is already available on Xbox, as well as on Sony's PlayStation, PCs and smartphones.