A curious new snapshot build for Minecraft has added some bugfixes and some minor gameplay changes, but there's something a bit more noticeable in the patch notes. Most players of Minecraft will be familiar with the randomized phrases that appear on the game's splash screen, with some of them being references to Markus Alexj Persson, otherwise more well-known by his nickname "Notch". The update has specifically removed those references to Minecraft's creator, such as "Made by Notch!", "The work of Notch!", and "110813". Microsoft didn't give a reason for the removal, though it could potentially be due to Notch's divisive Twitter comments causing a rift, and possibly resulting in the company trying to distance themselves from his politics. The only remaining mention of Notch is in the game's full end credits.

Source

 

[The Catboy]

Good! It's about damn time they started distancing Minecraft from that neckbeard!

 

[Smarag]

Good! It's about damn time they started distancing Minecraft from that neckbeard!

after 8 years of lurking I have logged in to say

this.

 

[osaka35]

hadn't heard about his actions, so had to google. woof. conspiracy nutter with a nazi bent. yeah, good on microsoft.

 

[AmandaRose]

hadn't heard about his actions, so had to google. woof. conspiracy nutter with a nazi bent. yeah, good on microsoft.

He is also a homophobic/transphobic/racist bigoted piece of shit.

 

[codezer0]

Though i never played minecraft, because it wasn't my kind of thing, and because its default aesthetic seems to actively attack my eyes for some reason, what i could finf of what Notch looks like... I can't help but be reminded of the meme of that creepy dude that's always quoted as saying "install gentoo" or some other crap.

 

[x65943]

Sad to see it go, but makes sense as it was bought out a while ago now

It probably does have to do with his politically incorrect tweets - which tbh have been way overblown

He is just a rich guy saying what rich guys say - except he has no shareholders or responsibilities anymore - so he is saying them in public, whereas all the other rich guys keep this stuff for their other rich guy friends

 

[Axido]

Maybe it's not because of that Persson (#nopunintendo), but because of a legal dispute with Apple.

 

[Deleted_413010]

Maybe it's not because of that Persson (#nopunintendo), but because of a legal dispute with Apple.

Legal Dispute?

 

[osaka35]

*snip*
that's not how those words work. do better. also, try and stay on topic please :3

 

[Deleted_413010]

@osaka35 May you kindly break this fight? I can't stand seeing this. Its off-topic.

On Topic:

As long as Notch still gets credit for originally making the game this is a good thing and it should have been done when Microsoft released their very first Minecraft update.

 

[DinohScene]

Can we go back OT again instead of bickering about transphobia?

I kinda find it a dickmove from MS's side but then again, Notch said he doesn't want to do anything with Minecraft as it became to big for him.

I guess it's just the natural progression.
Notch left Mojang as soon as the deal went through and distanced himself from it.

 

[bodefuceta]

Though i never played minecraft, because it wasn't my kind of thing, and because its default aesthetic seems to actively attack my eyes for some reason, what i could finf of what Notch looks like... I can't help but be reminded of the meme of that creepy dude that's always quoted as saying "install gentoo" or some other crap.

He's nothing like Richard Stallman.

 

[ClassyDragon]

It's a smart business move. Notch sold the game (for a lot of money) so MS is free to distance its game with such wide appeal from a guy with such controversial opinions. Still kinda sad to see it happen though. Haven't followed the supposed Twitter fiasco but I remember him being a pretty influential example of what an indie developer can do back in the day.

 

[linuxares]

Why have this news thread turned in to tumblr?

 

[Kioku]

Why have this news thread turned in to tumblr?

Tumblr would have included hate speech in the OP.

OT: Why did it take this long to do so? I'd have liked to assume they would have taken these actions a while ago.

 

[leon315]

homophobic/transphobic/racist

i heard Minecraft is unique, people tend either like it or hate it, I personally have never played it. i had to google him too and this guy just shared different thoughts about LGT, then got attacked and insulted from people over the internet.

it's easy for commoners to stay behind a monitor and use keyboard as weapon, especially when their target is a famous guy. he doesn't agree about transgender's sexuality, but that won't make him a ''piece of manure''.

 

[8BitWonder]

While I can understand a company trying to distance itself from someone making questionable comments, I see this as more of a "oh we should have fixed this by now" kind of change. (Though perhaps recent comments that I'm not aware of reminded them)

It makes sense that they'd remove personal references to a dev that has not been working on the game for over four years.

 

[MrHuu]

I personally don't understand why these references are getting removed. He did make the game, right?
There are absolutely no references to his personal opinions, and those are completely unrelated to the game, which Notch made.

I don't say i agree with his opinions, but i definitely don't agree with the GBATemp dramaqueens forcing their opinions to other users..

 

[CoolStarDood]

He made a good game, but DAMN, he's crazy.

I haven't seen everything he's said, but from what I have seen, he's definitely a nut