Fully Charged: Microsoft might buy Minecraft maker, Little Printer creator folds, and October’s Xbox One update overhauls Snap access

Mojang and Minecraft going to Microsoft?

Well, this is a surprise: According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is seeking to purchase Minecraft developer Mojang AB. The discussed deal is reportedly worth more than USD$2 billion (£1.24 billion), which seems downright crazy for a studio that has shipped only one major game.

Then again, the block-based, world-building favorite has sold more than 54 million copies across platforms and spawned an insane amount of top-selling merchandise – and there might even be a movie adaptation in the works. A deal could be finalised within days, says the report.

Bloomberg adds that Mojang founder Markus “Notch” Persson reached out to Microsoft about a potential acquisition months back, and that he is not likely to stay on longterm should the deal go through. And Microsoft reportedly won’t pull other platforms’ versions of Minecraft in this proposed acquisition, perhaps wishing to keep growing the brand while hurrying to concoct an exclusive sequel.

[Sources: The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg via Polygon]

Little Printer maker Berg shutting down

Berg, the London company behind the adorable Little Printer nano-printer, has announced that it’s about to shut its doors after failing to create a sustainable business around its products. A small team will continue to support Little Printer until March, at which point Berg may sell it to another company or open up the source code to all.

The Little Printer was a charming way to physically print out small notes and the like from a paired smartphone, but its practical purpose was rather limited. It’ll be interesting to see if anything more comes out of this group next year, but if not, at least they made something memorable.

[Source: Berg]

October Xbox One update overhauls Snap access

Snap is a standout feature of the Xbox One experience, or at least it should be – but getting apps into and out of the side frame while playing a game can be a real headache. Luckily, next month’s planned system update will make it possible to pull up and close Snap apps with a double-tap input, rather than needing to back out to the main console menu. Better yet, Friends and Messages will soon be Snap-compatible.

Additional video-related features are coming too, including DLNA streaming support – initially only to members in the preview program – and a live TV trending app. You’ll also be able to hide installed games and apps from view, and some other aspects of the overall UI have been tweaked.

[Source: Major Nelson]

Last-gen Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor delayed

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor looks to be one the best licensed games in ages, however the open-world action game set in the same universe as the Lord of the Rings has been delayed – but only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Indeed, those last-gen versions – which to date haven’t been shown, and reportedly don’t feature the full set of gameplay features as the others – have been delayed from 3 October until 21 November. All publisher Warner Bros. said is that they’ll “take more time in development,” but luckily the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC versions are still on track to debut in a few short weeks.

[Source: Games Press]

About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.