Minecraft maker Mojang Studios is exploring partnerships in areas such as merchandising, education and content streaming, according to its chief asa Bredin. That's in addition to a Warner Bros-distributed movie adaptation, scheduled to premiere in April, and a Netflix series that's also in the works.
Fans of the 15-year-old franchise include those who don't play the game but "really want to be part of this whole thing that is Minecraft", Bredin said in an interview in Tokyo on Thursday. "Within our portfolio of experiences, we want to be able to cater to a lot of people."
Microsoft-owned Mojang has built Minecraft from a one-person project into a global service with well over 100 million active users each month. Revenue in the studio's consumer products business, ranging from clothing to plushy toys in claw machines, has doubled over the last two years, she said.
Mojang's push follows repeated forays by Nintendo and Sony to broaden the appeal of their gaming properties at a time that spending in the industry has hit a lull. Nintendo is developing a live-action film based on the Legend of Zelda franchise, following the blockbuster success of The Super Mario Bros Movie , while Sony has turned The Last of Us into an HBO series and created games based on the Spider-Man movies.
Mojang has adopted artificial intelligence to help moderate chats and content in a game that's played by different age groups, Bredin said. But it remains to be seen what the broader impact of AI will be on the industry, she added.
