July 2010 It was morning in my apartment and Markus logged onto the computer. He had received a rather pleasant morning routine, he thought. Every time someone bought a copy of Minecraft, he received an e-mail sent to him. Since most customers were Americans so sold most games while Mark slept. When he woke up, always a bunch köpbekräftelser waiting for him.
This morning could Markus noted that 400 people had bought Minecraft over the past 24 hours. He leaned back in his chair, did a quick mental calculation and concluded that about 40 000 had rolled into his bank account since yesterday morning. It was a new record.
Just over a year had passed since that spring day when Mark put out the first version of Minecraft online.
He had not even in his wildest dreams dared to expect that the game would bring in some money to speak of.
The same summer passed the number of copies sold of Minecraft 20,000, and with a breathtaking feeling in my gut realized Markus that he was about to become a rich man . He remembers to this day the time he went to the ATM machine and merely found that there were more than a million dollars in the account. The bank statement framed he and girlfriend Elin in at home in the apartment. “ They often say that the first is the most difficult” , he told Elin.
Eventually even Markus idols noticing game. The programmer Brandon Reinhart, who worked with Mark’s favorite game Team Fortress 2, wrote a post on his blog that the next version of it would likely be delayed. Develops team had in fact stuck in a deep and serious Minecraft Dependent. “ Yes, You should buy this game” , he wrote and linked to Mark’s website. Sales more than doubled overnight.
Soon, he earned more money on Minecraft than its usual programming job. He worked there but eventually went down in time. Other days he sat at home in the apartment and filed further on Minecraft.
Markus continued to tell himself that it was only temporary. Soon Face it, he thought. But the figures went up.
Even before Minecraft hit it had Markus solemnly promised himself that he would invest wholeheartedly in their own game development once the economy allowed it. He and James had put countless hours daydreaming about the game studio they wanted to start together. There were already plans to let the money from Minecraft finance the development of the strategy game Scrolls as they gazed at. Mark was tired of coding alone.
But to resign from a steady job is no small decision, and Mark found himself, to his own surprise, have a harder time taking it than he had anticipated .
James found himself in a similar situation. Unlike Mark, he had stayed as game developers Midas Player. The company continued to pull in big money. Soon, he was asked if he wanted to step up and be responsible for all the company’s game development operations. For a father of small children that Jacob was a very tempting offer. A manager’s role and a good salary, in addition to a business that everyone agreed was a bright future. James and Mark faced the same crossroads as the most entrepreneurial dreams made at some point in their lives. On the one hand: the safe everyday with steady job and salary. On the other hand: a rare chance to make a reality of his dream. With Minecraft luggage could prerequisites hardly be better, but to take the step needed a little push in the right direction.
shove came at the beginning of August 2010, when Mark’s cell phone rang and a polite, American voice was heard in the handset. The person introduced himself as a representative of Valve Software, Markus congratulated on the success of Minecraft and was wondering if perhaps the Swede would be interested to look past the main office in Washington state for a coffee.
Valve. One of the most prestigious gaming company with some of gaming history’s most iconic titles: The acclaimed games in the Half-Life series, Portal and Mark own favorite Team Fortress 2 Mark realized that the person in the handset hardly was just looking for a snack. Behind the polite invitation lurked one of two possibilities. Either Valve interested in buying Minecraft, or they wanted to offer Mark a job. That established game developers tackles successful indie projects is not unusual, and it was not inconceivable that Valve now decided to try to do with Minecraft what they did with Portal a couple of years earlier. But the American did not tell you more than that Valve was impressed by Minecraft and wanted to meet with Mark to get to know him. If only they could agree on a time, he would arrange both air tickets and hotel rooms. The vague announcement despite Markus did not think long before he said yes. Job or not, to meet with Valve, maybe shake hands with the idol Gabe Newell himself, was every game developers dream.
– Okay then, replied Mark.
He hesitated for a second, but decided to take a chance.
– But then, I want first class tickets
Flight tickets in first class was. The visit at Valve’s Bellevue headquarters just outside Seattle booked the first week in September.
With the trip in the calendar decided Mark and James for that it was time to make a decision. Mark insisted on carrying out the visit in the United States. For James, he told me that the plan was still the same: in the fall, they would make a reality of the plans on our own game studio. But he still wanted to keep a door open. An offer of a job at Valve could not just brush aside without thought.
The night before the visit at Valve had James and Mark talked to each other over Skype. James had asked Mark what he would say about the issue of job showed up, but to get a straight answer. “ I want to hear what they want to” was the only Mark had said. He understood as well as the friend in Stockholm that much hung on tomorrow’s meeting.
Markus decided to stay in Seattle would never be anything of their joint venture. If not, they promised each other to do kind of thing. “ I hear from me for 24 hours” , Mark promised. James ended the conversation and could not do anything but wait. In the back of his mind, he realized that the coming days would be crucial. Either he took the head job he had been offered Midas Player. It would mean more meetings, more responsibility and less time to code and game development. Or so he pulled and best friend started his dream project. The decision lay entirely with Markus.
Mark remembers his visit to Valve’s headquarters as a jumble of impressions. Before he was released into the premises he had to sign a confidentiality agreement, which he solemnly promised not to tell the world about the unfinished game productions he’d see there. He got to meet Robin Walker, the man who wrote the original Team Fortress game, and then was hired by Valve to lead the development of the sequel. He was shown around the premises by Brandon Reinhart, who wrote the blog post that got Minecraft sales soar. He even got to shake hands with the founder and CEO Gabe Newell himself. Valve boss was very stressed, remember Mark, but the fact that Gabe Newell seemed to know him and Minecraft felt like an honor.
Then appeared Markus into a conference room, along with a man from Valve’s personnel department . He told frank about the culture at Valve and how it was to work at the company. Mark talked about himself and his plans for Minecraft, while it dawned on him that he actually found himself in the middle of a job interview. Valve representative in the room listened, nodded his head and fired into counterquestions where it suited.
When the exercise was finished was the papers aside. You are a talented programmer, but you’re not used to working in groups, read review. We can help you with. Markus listened closely when opportunities at Valve were painted up for him. The industry might most desirable workplace. A chance to influence and participate in game development forefront. We would love to work with you, he was told. Are you interested in working for us?
Here, the story could take a different turn. Mark had been able to accept and move to Seattle. Maybe he and Elin then lived in one of the posh houses next to Lake Washington, with both pool and lake view. Perhaps Minecraft has remained as a downloadable game in Valve’s Steam store. Perhaps Mark had simply left the Minecraft behind to instead work with a couple hundred other Valve programmer on the next part of the Half-Life series.
But that did not happen. Mark describes it as one of his life’s most difficult decisions, but when the personnel officer asked the question, he answered politely but firmly.
– Somewhere I felt that Minecraft might be my chance to create a Valve, rather than working at Valve, he says today.
Across the Atlantic, James sat at home in Stockholm and fingered on her cellphone. It beeped. A new text message from Mark: “ You can terminate you” . The next morning did Jacob just that.
A few weeks later the company incorporated Mojang AB.
the game behind this week’s giant business – became Markus “notch” Persson, one of Sweden’s wealthiest people
Daniel Goldberg
Linus Larsson
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