Microsoft Said to Be in Advanced Talks to Buy Minecraft Maker

Microsoft is in advanced talks to acquire the maker of the game Minecraft for more than $2 billion, people briefed on the discussions said on Tuesday, a move intended to ensure that one of the most popular games is available for the computing giant's family of devices.

There are still many details the two sides need to work out, and a deal could fall through, according to one of these people, who asked for anonymity because the talks were private.

Acquiring Minecraft would give Microsoft control of an online world that has defied many of the conventions of the modern games business to become a blockbuster success. Minecraft's blocky graphics are crude by today's standards, looking like virtual Lego bricks.

But unlike many of the start-ups that get bought by big technology companies for billions of dollars, Minecraft is already a lucrative business. Earlier this year, Mojang A.B., the privately held Swedish company that makes Minecraft, told The Wall Street Journal that its revenues were about $360 million last year, up 38 percent from the year before. The Journal earlier reported on Tuesday the discussions with Microsoft.

Mojang was cofounded by Markus Persson, a 35-year-old programmer and game designer who is better known through the game world by his gamer name, Notch. Mr. Persson has said in the past that he didn't want to sell the company.

In an era when many games, especially for mobile devices, are given away for free and profit from the sale of virtual currency and other items, Mojang sells Minecraft the old-fashioned way - by charging people to buy a copy. The price varies depending on what kind of device people want to play the game on, ranging from $7 on mobile phones to $27 for computer versions. A version of Minecraft for Microsoft's Xbox, which has been a top seller for the console, costs $20.

For Microsoft, the interest in a deal is motivated in large part by a desire to ensure that some of its most important platforms have attractive content available for them. Minecraft is not currently available on Windows Phone, the mobile operating system that Microsoft has struggled to turn into a strong competitor to Apple's iPhone and Google 's Android.

Minecraft has also not been adapted to take advantage of the graphical interface of Microsoft's latest operating system for computers and tablets, Windows 8. The game is not available for purchase in the Windows Store, Microsoft's online app store.

Gaming remains one of the most popular applications for mobile devices and computers. The lack of timely versions of top titles for its devices has been a problem for Microsoft as it attempts to compete more aggressively with rivals like Apple, Samsung and Google.

By the standards of Microsoft , which had nearly $86 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of June, a $2 billion-plus deal would be relatively small. Because Mojang is a European company Microsoft would be able to use cash from overseas operations to fund the deal, a more attractive prospect than bringing the cash back to the United States where it would be subject to hefty repatriation taxes.

A spokeswoman for Microsoft declined to comment. Mr. Persson didn't respond to a request for comment.

Microsoft first approached Mojang about three months ago, interested in pursuing a deal, one of the people briefed on the discussions said. By that point, the company - and Mr. Persson in particular - had considered a sale, having received takeover approaches worth roughly $1 billion in the past few years.

By early summer, Microsoft made an initial offer, prompting more serious talks between the two sides. Last month, Mojang hired additional advisers to help out in the discussions.

Talks are continuing between the two sides, though an agreement could be reached by the end of the month, this person said. While Mr. Persson now accepts that he may not stay for more than six months if a deal is struck, Mojang is pressing to try and ensure that its younger developers are retained by Microsoft.

In a Q.&A. hosted on the Internet forum Reddit a year ago, Mr. Persson described growing up relatively poor until he created the now incredibly popular game. Now, he wrote, he has earned a huge amount of money that he spends on computers, gaming consoles and traveling. 'I might eventually get a driver's license so I can buy a car,' he added.