Notch: Mojang isn't really "indie" any more

By Robert Purchese Published 24 January, 2012

He's hardly strapped for cash.

Millionaire Markus "Notch" Persson doesn't think the "indie" moniker best describes his studio Mojang any more.

As he explained to PC Gamer: "I don't think [Mojang] are indie in the sense of how I used to work any more, because we have a payroll to worry about and we need to do stuff to ensure the company lasts.

"We have other stuff which influences what we do other than trying to focus on the games. We make sure me and Jakob [Porser] are only focusing on game development, so the founders are still developing.

"But as a company, I don't think we are indie in the sense that I used to mean it. But in the other sense of indie - as in we make games we want to play without having any external dependencies - then yeah, we're indie."

Notch went on to say that the definition of 'indie' had changed since the days of being "a garage programmer". Back then you typically didn't charge for a game, he said, whereas today asking money is the norm.

"These days it's become hip to pay for indie games," Notch, himself the owner of a hip hat, declared.

"That's partly down to people charging for it, like with the Humble Indie Bundle, and partly because of Steam doing awesome stuff."

"[Being indie is] much easier these days, but there's still no guarantee you'll make a profit. If you're doing it out of passion and just want to get some money back, it's definitely doable."

Minecraft launched formerly in November 2011, but existed before then as an unfinished and open project. To date, 4,741,333 people have bought Minecraft, and over 20 million have registered to play.

Minecraft patch 1.1.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (37) Latest comment 4 weeks ago

  • seeafish #1 4 weeks ago

    I don't know what it is about this Notch guy, but I can't stand him. Comes across as cocky and obnoxious...

  • wizlon #2 4 weeks ago

    I'm glad he's ditched his Indie moniker, it makes the rest of us cash strapped developers seem a bit more comfortable about our status.

  • cukydoh #3 4 weeks ago

    @seeafish That's how most of the games industry feels.

  • Triggerhappytel #4 4 weeks ago

    "Minecraft launched formerly in November 2011"

    You mean formally?!

  • Slipstream #5 4 weeks ago

    I doubt Mojang even cares that he's being 'kicked out' of the Indie circle.

    Isn't it the goal of every indie developer to transcend?

  • liamaland #6 4 weeks ago

    @seeafish Careful, Notch defenders are the most zealous of all, no matter what he does they see it as gold, even if it's a complete mess and an abomination against the gaming world like Minecraft.

  • Crohme #7 4 weeks ago

    I think money makes dickheads out of people, at least too much of it.
    While too little of it makes you commit suicide.
    Now what would I give to just have enough... oh wait there is no such thing as enough.

  • Toothball #8 4 weeks ago

    I was pondering Mojang's status as an indie developer when they started publishing other indie games. I previously thought that an independent developer was one who worked without a publisher backing, but that has become very confusing these days, with things like this from Mojang. We also have platforms like Steam and Desura effectively performing the distribution and money-collecting work that was formerly handled by a publisher. These are very interesting times to be a gamer, that's for sure.

  • magicpanda #9 4 weeks ago

    @liamaland Ok I'll bite, why is Minecraft "an abomination against the gaming world"?

  • seeafish #10 4 weeks ago

    @liamaland probably why you, me and cukydoh got negged so much!
    Hey, I think Minecraft is cool... it's just the guy's personality I can't stand.
    People who neg me, grow up. I'm not some 14 year old flameboy out to incite a revolt. My opinion (keyword there!) comes from having read and watched many interviews with him. He's like Linus Thorvalds... awesome dude, just has his head up his ass!

  • persus-9 #11 4 weeks ago

    Mojang aren't the first to reach this point. Valve came at it from the other direction so they were never indie but they reached the point long ago where they're rich enough to be completely independent of external publishers but they sure aren't indie.

  • MaybeLater #12 4 weeks ago

    @seeafish Thankfully we're not judges on a talent show or hacks working for a gossip magazine- so it doesn't really matter.

  • Rajin #13 4 weeks ago

    @seeafish

    In my opinion he's just a self righteous prick being revered to as a god by his followers.(my opinion based on more then one interview as well)

    Nothing against minecraft and builder-games in general(i'm sure it's a great game, to much a time sink for me these days though)

    But it won't stop people from negging you of course.
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/12 @ 12:35

  • secombe #14 4 weeks ago

    They are still 'indie', if as I always assumed indie means independent. Them being loaded is neither here nor there.

    Steam etc doesn't really come into it, using a distribution service that otherwise has no links to the development of the title doesn't stop it being 'indie'.

    Use a similar methodology for the movie industry and there would be virtually no independent films in cinemas (the noteable exception last year being Red State) as virtually everything that makes it to a theatre has to have a distribution deal with a studio.

  • seeafish #15 4 weeks ago

    @Rajin Yeah I noticed... my comment was apparently so offensive that it's below the threshold now :) of course it could just be a joke.
    In any case I apologise if I offended anyone's religion, erm, preference.
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/12 @ 12:44

  • reeferchief #16 4 weeks ago

    Indie ends up becoming mainstream, then telling everyone how it's still cutting edge and denying that mainstream status it's now transcended to. See Quentin Tarantino, any band that was once considered indie, Arctic Monkeys etc, etc.

    Hipsters however, they just suck.

  • Whatascoop #17 4 weeks ago

    Minecraft costs £17(!!!). No thanks mate I'll buy some indie games priced by sane people instead.

  • Gearskin #18 4 weeks ago

    This is why I don't like it when "Notch" passes comment on piracy etc... It doesn't actually matter to him. He's made his money, and he's an exception to the rule. "Indie" doesn't mean millionaire, and plenty of indie developers don't make it big.

  • Spekingur #19 4 weeks ago

    Indie = independant. I don't know what other meanings people put in to the word.

    For some reason it is cool to put hate on Notch, Mojang and Minecraft. The human race still baffles me.

  • Spekingur #20 4 weeks ago

    @Gearskin Dude, he was commenting like that on piracy well before his Minecraft fame.

  • JMac Verified Designer, Rebellion #21 4 weeks ago

    I think he should use some of his vast cash mountain to fund promising Indie development upstarts. I think that's what's known as "sharing the love".

  • Subdominator #22 4 weeks ago

    @Spekingur Yeah, there really is only one meaning for indie and Mojang is an indie developer like Valve or Bungie. Indie basically only means "self-owned". An indie can take money from a publisher, that doesn't make him any less indie. But if he sells parts of his company to a publisher he is no longer indie.

    Notch strangely seems to see indie as being able to do what he wants without caring about others. That's not indie, that's egocentric.

  • menschenfracht #23 4 weeks ago

    Indie = independant. I don't know what other meanings people put in to the word.

    Sony and Valve are indie then
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/12 @ 13:39

  • Subdominator #24 4 weeks ago

    @JMac Why would he do that? It's not like he owes anything to anyone.

  • Subdominator #25 4 weeks ago

    @menschenfracht Sony belongs to thousands of shareholders and investment firms. That's hardly what you can call indie. As soon as you sell part of your company, be it private or at the stock market, you're no longer indie because you have to make business decisions according to your owners. Valve belongs to Newell, so of course they are indie.

  • menschenfracht #26 4 weeks ago

    @Subdominator
    point taken )
    nevertheless, 'indie' is a very vague term. i prefer to call indie every game whose creative directors aren't controlled by managers or investors

  • Ranger101 #27 4 weeks ago

    @JMac He technically does - he's usually always one of the biggest contributors to the Humble Indie Bundle packs. And he's already started his own publishing enterprise. Guy does give back a lot.

  • Whatascoop #28 4 weeks ago

    @Subdominator Isn't one of the reasons Minecraft is successful due to the sheer amount and variety of modpacks other people designed for free? Does anyone play vanilla Minecraft? if not he does owe people.

  • kangarootoo #29 4 weeks ago

    @cukydoh and seeafish

    From what I've seen, there are some members of the indie scene that are all "solidarity brothers and sisters", until someone gets a lot of success. Then suddenly they narrow their eyes, and talk of "selling out" and "not a proper indie" float into view.

    Says more about those individuals than it does about notch imo.

  • Subdominator #30 4 weeks ago

    @Whatascoop Minecraft was popular long before mods became popular. Those only really started their success (and that is relative, the majority of Minecraft players doesn't even change the default skin and only plays vanilla Singleplayer Creative) when Minecraft development slowed down.

    If anything he should be paying Google some millions because Youtube made Minecraft popular in the first place.

  • alexbulluk #31 4 weeks ago

    Depends how you define indie, really.

    I usually class indie as one or two people making games in their spare time - when you own a multi-million pound company and have employees and everything, I don't see how that can be classed as indie.

    As a side note; what's with all the hate for Minecraft? I know Notch is a bit of a dick, but the game itself is pretty great, and while Jeb has been working on it full time, it has gotten even better.

  • Ptarmigandalf #32 4 weeks ago

    @Toothball Now they are an indie publisher. Wait, I think my head just exploded.

  • Ptarmigandalf #33 4 weeks ago

    @JMac No, I believe that's actually known as "sharing the money", and I can't blame him for being cautious about that.

  • Dave #34 4 weeks ago

    An entire news article about Mojang being indie or not...interesting.

  • Bander #35 4 weeks ago

    So, today's news is that Notch has once again confirmed that he's swimming in cash.

    Was there really a time when 'indie' developers "typically didn't charge for a game"? The only way I can interpret such a nonsense statement is that Notch isn't even sure himself why he's made lots of money, while developers of less ugly, unfinished and pointless games have not.
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/12 @ 20:09

  • Markusdragon #36 4 weeks ago

    I would argue that technically, they're a publisher now. It's hard to be independent of a publisher when you're a publisher yourself.
    Edited by 1 at 25/01/12 @ 01:52

  • jogyourmind #37 4 weeks ago

    @magicpanda

    Because it's not even a game.