The news that Facebook will acquire Oculus VR for $2 billion in a combined cash/stock deal has, understandably, taken over the internet. Everyone on Twitter is posting reactions—some are excited, many are shocked, and almost everyone is surprised. Mojang's Markus "Notch" Persson has weighed in on the news by canceling talks for an upcoming, official version of Minecraft for the Oculus Rift.
"We were in talks about maybe bringing a version of Minecraft to Oculus," Persson tweeted shortly after the announcement on Tuesday. "I just cancelled that deal. Facebook creeps me out."
A Minecraft port for the Rift would have been a huge addition to the headset's launch lineup. We wonder if other indie developers will shy away from VR support due to similar feelings about Facebook.
Be sure to read our hands-on impressions of the new Oculus Rift DK2 , and stay tuned for more on Facebook's purchase of Oculus VR .
Update : Shortly after publishing this story, Notch published a blog post expanding his comments on Facebook's Oculus acquisition. The post elaborates on Persson's enthusiasm for VR and the technology Oculus is developing, and expands on Mojang's potential deal to bring Minecraft to the Rift—including his initial reservations on how the game would mesh with VR.
"I said that it doesn't really fit the platform," Persson writes, "since it's very motion based, runs on java (that has a hard time delivering rock solid 90 fps, especially since the players build their own potentially hugely complex levels), and relies a lot on GUI." Persson suggested a slimmed-down version of the game for the Oculus, according to the post.
The Facebook purchase announced today has made him cancel plans for the deal. "I definitely want to be a part of VR, but I will not work with Facebook," he writes. "Their motives are too unclear and shifting, and they haven't historically been a stable platform. There's nothing about their history that makes me trust them, and that makes them seem creepy to me. And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition. "
Persson's post also includes a link to the currently available Minecrift mod, which adds Oculus Rift support to Minecraft but is unsupported by Mojang.
