Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Caudick admitted that his company could have acquired Mojang and "Minecraft" before the Microsoft deal. The former CEO said that Activision seriously considered acquiring the phenomenal sandbox game in the early 2010s and even made a formal offer to the game's creator, Markus Alexey Persson, alias Notch.
Caudick revealed that he spent five days in Stockholm discussing the acquisition and made an offer of $1.5 billion to the founder of "Minecraft." But during the negotiations, it was discovered that Notch planned to leave the company after the sale, and key employees would also leave. At the time, Mojang had only about 30 employees, and Activision had doubts about its ability to effectively manage such a lean team.
After the meeting, Notch called back to tell Caudick that Microsoft had made a higher offer of $2.5 billion. After hearing the news, the Activision chief admitted he couldn't beat the price, and the deal fell through. Subsequently, Microsoft quickly completed the acquisition of Mojang and built "Minecraft" into its core IP.
Caudick now admits that Microsoft has successfully promoted the development of the project, and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has made "outstanding contributions" in brand operations. Many years later, his company was also acquired by Microsoft, which also indirectly established a connection with "Minecraft" in a sense.
Now, Caudick is leaving the company after 32 years, and he has become one of the most controversial managers in the gaming industry.