Update

Minecraft Advocates Cautiously Optimistic in the Wake of Microsoft Purchase

The gaming world went a little nuts last week when Microsoft shelled out $2.5 billion to purchase Mojang, makers of the wildly popular Minecraft.

In the learning games community there was a collective gasped followed by, largely, silence as those who have been central to Minecraft’s spread in schools assessed the news.

Perhaps not surprisingly the phrase “cautious optimism” seems to be where these folks have landed for now.

“While there are always a few hiccups associated with any change, I think overall there are far more positive things Microsoft brings to the table than negative,” Joel Levin, one of the creators of MinecraftEdu, told us.

It’s too early to be certain what Microsoft brings to the table for Minecraft in the education space, but we are excited to explore the possibilities.
Joel Levin, @MinecraftTeachr

Microsoft, in announcing the purchase this week, stressed that they understood Minecraft was not just a game, but actually a platform for all sorts of gamers to do all sorts of things, including teachers using the tool in the classroom.

Minecraft has found its way into classrooms to teach everything from art to quantum mechanics.

Minecraft has found its way into classrooms to teach everything from art to quantum mechanics.

“One thing is for sure is for Microsoft… and our team focused on gaming we are going to learn a lot as an organization about what it means to work with a community that is as vibrant as the Minecraft community,” Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, said in a video release, adding that a cornerstone of Microsoft’s plans was to listen to feedback from the existing Minecraft community.

And that community connected to the game loomed large in many of the software giant’s public pronouncements.

Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft

Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft

As much as they went on and on about the Minecraft community one of those communities was notably absent – teachers.

As Frank Catalano noted on EdSurge, “Educators had the right to feel a little freaked out about Microsoft’s announcement that it was acquiring Minecraft maker Mojang.”

As this excerpt from an upcoming professional development series from the Games and Learning Publishing Council highlights, a growing number of teachers have turned to the world-building game to bolster their teaching.

“It’s found legitimacy in the classroom for a few reasons. I think it fits well in an education landscape with a renewed focus on innovative ways to teach STEM subjects. But its adoption has also been bolstered by the growing maker and DIY movements,” Levin said this week. “Minecraft fits snugly in this creative culture. But most importantly, it’s fun!”

But Catalano added that later in the day, Nadella singled out the educational value of Minecraft in a speech, saying, ““If you talk about STEM education, the best way to introduce anyone to STEM or get their curiosity going on, it’s Minecraft.”

Catalano suggested Microsoft could use the game to help beef up its educational strategy, which could help answer one of the bigger doubts some industry analysts had about the purchase.

“The big risk for Microsoft is these games rise up, but at some point, they fall out of favor,” Gartner research director Brian Blau said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “You kind of have to wonder, how are they going to transform it?”

But for those who have worried that the community aspect of Minecraft may suffer, there were also indications this week that the community effort around the game may have become too much for the small group of developers behind it.

On the day of the announcement, Mojang founder Markus Persson announced he was leaving the company so he could “stick to small prototypes and interesting challenges.”

“I love you. All of you, “ he wrote on his blog. “Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can’t be responsible for something this big. In one sense, it belongs to Microsoft now. In a much bigger sense, it’s belonged to all of you for a long time, and that will never change.”