From solo Minecraft dev to startup to $2.5B acquisition in less than six years

Microsoft today announced the $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang, the company behind the world's most popular computer game Minecraft.

With such a big number involved it might be easy to forget just how simply this game started and how incredibly quickly it grew.

Minecraft started as a pet project by developer Markus "Notch" Persson in 2009. He wanted to make something incredibly simple that featured only fun mechanics and felt both "accessible and emergent." The result was Cave Game, but what followed next was Minecraft.

Last week, rumors began to surface about the potential sale of the studio and its game. This week those rumors were confirmed. Microsoft announced the purchase of Mojang for $2.5 billion and Mojang, in turn, announced that the three founders, including Persson, would be leaving the company once the deal is done.

Over the years, Minecraft has had a massive impact on the game industry, making millions and becoming the top selling PC game in history. Below you'll find a brief history of Minecraft and the company that it built and built it: Mojang.

Make sure you check out our complete Story Stream as well, right here.