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GamesBeat 2015 explores the future of user-generated content

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 7 min

When Microsoft bought Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5 billion a year ago, it was a ringing endorsement for user-generated content. Now it’s time to look at the future.

Mike Minotti of GamesBeat
Mike Minotti of GamesBeat

The evidence is abundant, from Minecraft to MOBA mods, that user-generated content can create a vibrant ecosystem and healthy economy around a game. How do the best companies out there foster a community of users to do their work for them?

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.