Notch Steps Down as Lead Developer on Minecraft

Co-developer Jens Bergensten will be taking over future development of Minecraft.

In a post made to his personal blog this morning, Minecraft creator and Mojang founder Markus “Notch” Persson announced that he has stepped down as lead developer of the popular sandbox indie game.

Jens “Jeb_” Bergensten will be taking over as lead developer, having worked on updates for Minecraft for the past year.

“I’m amazed at how much in synch we two are when it comes to how to design the game. ” Perrson said in regards to his decision to hand over control of Minecraft’s design to Bergensten. “And when we don’t agree, we discuss it and something much better comes out at a result.

“Personally, I will now rest for a while, then get back to work refreshed and eager.” Persson continued. “I’ll be helping out with Minecraft, of course, but also starting work on some new project.”

Fans of Minecraft can follow Bergensten on Twitter at @jeb_ or email him at [email protected].

Since in its initial alpha release in May of 2009, Minecraft has received continual updates and patches introducing new content and modes of play. Currently, the game has sold approximately 4 million units, and recently a full, final version of Minecraft was released this past November for the PC. Versions of the game have also been made available on the Andriod and iOS markets.

Source: notch.tumblr.com