Monday, Microsoft announced its $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang AB, the company behind the pixelated world-building game Minecraft. The company made a previous deal to buy Mojang, but once other prospects started showing similar curiosity, Microsoft decided to latch on and make it official. This move has brought tremendous speculation on the fate of franchise's popular gaming system, the Xbox, but in a good way. Because most people play Minecraft on PC, an estimated 100 million downloads last year just to build tree forts and castles, the Minecraft-addicted could be swayed in Microsofts direction. How? Well, with this new ambitious move, Minecraft lovers across the entire world can put that love to use by playing on more Microsoft systems, such as the Xbox and Windows smartphone systems. At least, this is what the company hopes.

One of the major concerns avid players have is whether or not Microsoft will change what doesn't need fixing. It's understandable for fans fear the big bad company coming in and rendering their favorite game into something less creative. A likely possibility, according to Time, is that “Microsoft will push more unique features towards its own Xbox platform”. Although playing on Xbox is super popular and has the same functionality as playing on PC, PC remains the most popular due to its advanced controls. Other popular platforms include tablets and smartphones, but these have the least functionality.

However, if “Microsoft expands its Xbox Minecraft network to its tablets or smartphones, it could transform millions of children around the world into walking, whining Microsoft acolytes, begging mom, dad, and Santa to fill their stocking with Microsoft products”. Additionally, this game can be thought of as a gateway towards more gaming, and “Microsoft will be the doorman ushering that player into its game room, instead of the competition's” (NPR). Don't worry about the game disappearing from your other devices, however. It will continue to be sold on iOS, PC, and Sony consoles.

Talk about good news for Microsoft. The deal, which should be final by the end of 2014, has plenty of time to settle in everyone’s' minds. In a statement, Xbox's chief Phil Spender said, “success is what put Microsoft on the road to making the deal”, and we should expect “great potential to continue to grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise”. But let's hope Microsoft knows how to deal with owning so many new players. Take it from the game's original creator Markus “Notch” Persson, who blogged about his own leaving of the company, “Thank you, but there are too many of you, and I can't be responsible for something this big”. There it stands, a $2.5 billion gamble for both parties.