What Is Mojang and Who Owns Minecraft Today?
Mojang (officially Mojang Studios) is the Swedish developer studio behind Minecraft. But Minecraft has been owned by Microsoft since 2014, when the company bought Mojang for $2.5 billion. Today Mojang is part of Xbox Game Studios, yet it still develops Minecraft itself from its headquarters in Stockholm. Here you’ll learn how a one-person project became the best-selling game in the world, who runs Mojang today and what’s coming next.
Mojang at a glance
| Name | Mojang AB, trading as Mojang Studios |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden; other offices include Redmond (US), London, Shanghai and Tokyo |
| Founded | 2009 (initially as Mojang Specifications), 2010 as Mojang AB |
| Founders | Markus “Notch” Persson and Jakob Porsér, with Carl Manneh as the first CEO |
| Owner | Microsoft (since November 6, 2014), part of Xbox Game Studios |
| Leadership | Maria Angelidou-Smith as CEO from October 19, 2026 (previously Kayleen Walters) |
| Best-known game | Minecraft – more than 425 million copies sold according to Xbox (October 2026) |
| Current version | Java Edition 26.3 / Bedrock Edition 26.50 “Wilderness Bound” (September 15, 2026) |
The origins of Minecraft: from “Cave Game” to global hit
Minecraft started as one developer’s hobby project. In 2009, alongside his day job, Markus “Notch” Persson worked on a game in which you could break down a world made of blocks and put it back together. It was inspired in part by the block game Infiniminer.
The working title was initially “Cave Game”. In May 2009, Notch briefly renamed the project “Minecraft: Order of the Stone” and shortly afterwards simply “Minecraft”. The first public version came out on May 17, 2009 – a date Mojang still celebrates as Minecraft’s birthday. There was no story and no goals, just a world and your ideas. That’s exactly what made the game special.
Minecraft spread like wildfire through forums like TIGSource and later through YouTube videos. Players could already buy the alpha and beta versions, helping to fund development. Notch presented the finished version 1.0 on November 18, 2011, at the MINECON fan convention in Las Vegas.
How Mojang came to be
Notch had already used the name “Mojang Specifications” for earlier projects. As Minecraft kept growing, he turned it into the company Mojang AB together with his former colleague Jakob Porsér and brought in Carl Manneh as CEO. The name comes from the Swedish word “mojäng”, which roughly means “gadget” or “thingamajig”.
Jens “Jeb” Bergensten joined at the end of 2010. He later took over leading Minecraft’s development and is now Mojang’s Chief Creative Officer. Alongside Minecraft, the studio also made smaller games of its own in its early years, such as the card game Scrolls.
The Microsoft acquisition
On September 15, 2014, Mojang announced that Microsoft was buying the studio for $2.5 billion. The acquisition closed on November 6, 2014 – since then, Mojang has been a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Notch, Jakob Porsér and Carl Manneh left the company after the sale. Why Notch sold and what he does today is explained in Who Is Notch and What Does He Have to Do with Minecraft?
On Minecraft’s 11th birthday, May 17, 2020, the studio renamed itself Mojang Studios and got a new logo. Legally, the company is still called Mojang AB.
Who owns Minecraft today?
Microsoft owns Minecraft. Mojang is now a so-called first-party studio of Xbox Game Studios – an in-house studio of Microsoft’s gaming division. Xbox (officially Microsoft Gaming) has been led by Asha Sharma since February 2026; she succeeded longtime Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who retired.
Despite the big corporation behind it, Minecraft is still released on practically every platform, including competitors’: PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iPhone, Android, Mac and Linux. Which version is available where is covered in All Minecraft Editions for PC and Consoles.
A new CEO from October 2026
On October 8, 2026, Xbox announced a change at the top (Xbox Wire):
- Maria Angelidou-Smith becomes CEO of Mojang and Minecraft from October 19, 2026. She spent nearly a decade leading product areas at Meta (including Facebook Groups), then led product and technology at Personio, and most recently was Chief Product Officer at Reddit.
- Kayleen Walters, previously Mojang’s Studio Head, becomes President of the new Xbox division XP. It covers everything around the games: film and TV, merchandise, partnerships and experiences such as theme parks. Among other things, Walters was an executive producer of A Minecraft Movie and is also a producer of the sequel.
What the change means for the game is still open. According to the announcement, the new CEO’s first priority is learning from the teams and the community.
Minecraft in numbers
- More than 425 million copies sold – that’s the figure Xbox gave in its announcement on October 8, 2026 (Xbox Wire). That makes Minecraft the best-selling video game of all time.
- For comparison: Mojang reported the 300 million mark in October 2023, followed by 350 million.
- Updates: Instead of one big update a year, Minecraft has received several smaller “game drops” a year since 2024. Since 2026, versions are named after the year and drop: the current ones are Java Edition 26.3 and Bedrock Edition 26.50 (“Wilderness Bound”, September 15, 2026).
More than a game: spin-offs and the movie
Over the years, Mojang and Microsoft have built Minecraft into a whole brand:
| Title | Type | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Minecraft: Story Mode | Story game (by Telltale Games) | 2015 |
| Minecraft Earth | Augmented reality mobile game | 2019, shut down in 2021 |
| Minecraft Dungeons | Action RPG | 2020 |
| Minecraft Legends | Action strategy game | 2023 |
| Minecraft Dungeons II | Action RPG, sequel to Dungeons | September 29, 2026 |
| Minecraft Education | Version for schools and classrooms | since 2016 |
A Minecraft Movie: The film starring Jack Black as Steve and Jason Momoa hit theaters in early April 2025 and grossed around $960 million worldwide – according to Xbox, one of the top five releases worldwide that year. Everything about the first film is in A Minecraft Movie: Everything You Need to Know.
The sequel: The title was revealed at Minecraft Live on May 30, 2026: “A Minecraft Movie Squared”. It’s scheduled to open on July 23, 2027. Jared Hess directs again. Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge and Matt Berry are back, and Kirsten Dunst joins as Alex.
Conclusion
Mojang is the studio that invented Minecraft and still develops it today – but the rights to Minecraft have belonged to Microsoft since 2014. Under Microsoft, Minecraft has grown from an indie hit into a global brand with more than 425 million copies sold, its own spin-offs and a film series. With Maria Angelidou-Smith, a new CEO takes over in October 2026. For players, nothing changes for now: Minecraft keeps coming out on all major platforms and keeps getting new game drops.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Minecraft?
Microsoft owns Minecraft. It bought the Swedish studio Mojang in 2014; since November 6, 2014, Mojang has been a Microsoft subsidiary and is now part of Xbox Game Studios. Minecraft is still developed by Mojang Studios, headquartered in Stockholm.
How much did Microsoft pay for Minecraft?
$2.5 billion. Mojang announced the sale on September 15, 2014, and the deal closed on November 6, 2014.
Who is the CEO of Mojang?
From October 19, 2026, Maria Angelidou-Smith leads Mojang as CEO of Mojang and Minecraft. She was previously Chief Product Officer at Reddit, among other roles. Her predecessor Kayleen Walters moves to head the new Xbox division XP. Xbox announced the change on October 8, 2026.
How many copies has Minecraft sold?
According to Xbox, Minecraft has sold more than 425 million copies (as of October 8, 2026). That makes it the best-selling video game of all time.
What does the name Mojang mean?
“Mojang” comes from the Swedish word “mojäng”, which roughly means “gadget” or “thingamajig”.
Is there going to be a second Minecraft movie?
Yes. The sequel is called “A Minecraft Movie Squared” and is scheduled to hit theaters on July 23, 2027. Jared Hess directs again; Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Danielle Brooks return, and Kirsten Dunst joins as Alex.
