Microsoft has barred 'Minecraft' creator Markus 'Notch' Persson from participating in the game's 10-year anniversary because of comments he's made online (MSFT)

[ad_1]

• “Minecraft” creator Markus “Notch” Persson became a billionaire when he sold “Minecraft” to Microsoft in 2014.
• At the same time, Persson disconnected from the game and its ongoing development.
• In the years since, he’s made a number of offensive public statements.
• Microsoft has moved to distance “Minecraft” from Persson, and is now excluding him from the game’s 10-year anniversary celebrations.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The creator of “Minecraft” isn’t allowed to participate in the game’s 10-year anniversary celebrations, Microsoft says.

“His comments and opinions do not reflect those of Microsoft or Mojang and are not representative of ‘Minecraft,'” a Microsoft representative told Variety on Monday.

The 10-year anniversary celebrates the launch of “Minecraft” as a playable game. It entered what is known as “alpha” — a software development jargon term that refers to the first usable form of software — on May 17, 2009. Microsoft is hosting an event to celebrate the upcoming anniversary, and says Persson isn’t welcome.

Neither Persson nor Microsoft immediately responded to Business Insider’s request for comment on Persson’s exclusion from the event. 

Read more: ‘I’ve never felt more isolated’: The man who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion reveals the empty side of success

The “comments and opinions” Microsoft referenced in its statement largely come from Persson’s Twitter account, @notch. 

His statements range from being critical of “Minecraft” to supportive of conspiracy theorists. In some instances, he’s made offensive statements about trans people. In other instances, he’s said things like, “If you’re still on the left, PLEASE wake up. You are evil.”

Persson has also spent a lot of time defending whiteness. “It’s okay to be white,” Persson said in November 2017. “There clearly is an agenda against white men,” he wrote in December 2018.

For these comments, among others, Microsoft seems to be distancing Persson’s creation from its creator: the company notably removed mentions of Persson from its main screen earlier this year. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: I tried the $1,980 Samsung Galaxy Fold and it’s impressive for a first-generation foldable phone, though far from perfect

[ad_2]