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Did the Minecraft Acquisition Seal Mojang’s Doom?

Did the Minecraft Acquisition Seal Mojang’s Doom?

Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang seemed like such a positive at the time. The situation was any independent developer’s dream. A tiny game by the name of Minecraft made the team famous. The success caught the eyes of all. Microsoft bought the studio, and suddenly everything was secure. Except now, a recent development has resulted in a precarious situation.

I’m referring to the Scrolls situation. Surely you heard about it, but you’re forgiven if you haven’t. It has been a while since the Bethesda/Mojang Scrolls lawsuit, and the strategic, collectible card game has since been overshadowed by games like Hearthstone . The idea was that people would face off against each other with scrolls, the cards, to see who was the smartest and strongest.

Except now, not even a year after it’s official release, it’s been declared a lost cause. Mojang announced that Scrolls ‘ servers will likely close in July 2016. Funny, how this happens within a year of Microsoft acquiring the developer. While the end of updates after launch is understandable, especially since a major one was released at the outset of June, the reveal of a total shutdown is never a good sign for a game that hasn’t even been out for six months.

If Scrolls were the only casualty, this could have been brushed off. Maybe it wasn’t the right time or place. Things happen. Except one has to wonder what’s going to happen with Cobalt , the game Mojang has been working on with Oxeye Game Studio and Fatshark. Despite being a PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One game, and there being an announcement back in September 2014 that the acquisition changed nothing , there has been little news about it. Cobalt didn’t appear at E3 2015. There was no ID@Xbox trailer for it in June 2015. It’s still at 124i Alpha.

Did the Minecraft Acquisition Seal Mojang’s Doom?

The silence isn’t just concerning, it’s telling. Microsoft was all about Xbox One first party games at E3 this year. Now that it owns Mojang, that would by extension make Cobalt one of its own. With the focus on the indie ID@Xbox program and making the Xbox One stand out with exclusives, it should have been the right time to unveil news about the project, but there was none.

Perhaps Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang wasn’t such a good thing. The developer is more secure, yes, but at what cost? Maybe Scrolls ‘ cancellation is a sign. Perhaps we should be asking more questions about Cobalt . This could be a sad coincidence, but maybe the deal made has turned Mojang into a company that will henceforth only be known for Minecraft .

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