State of independence: An inside view of Minecraft developer Mojang

King Games, maker of the popular Candy Crush Saga, just filed for an IPO expected to value what the founders call “The Kingdom” at $5 billion. Meanwhile, fellow Swedish game studio Mojang has trodden a determinedly indie path, making nearly $240 million in revenue last year with 35 employees and zero investors.

Mojang’s three founders, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson, Scrolls designer Jakob Porser, and CEO Carl Manneh, have a board meeting once a month. “We like to eat meat,” says Manneh. “So we go out and have a meal at a favorite meat restaurant in Stockholm, and we make very, very quick decisions. I’ve been involved in other companies where you have an external board and maybe venture capital who are part of the decision-making, but this is just us three. We can change the strategy of the company in one evening. That’s the strength of Mojang. We are independent.”