Microsoft's Mojang deal gives it Minecraft — and the massive audience that adores it

Did you buy anything interesting today? Like some new shoes? Maybe a new phone? How about a $2.5 billion dollar game developer? That’s exactly what Microsoft paid for today when it acquired Minecraft developer Mojang.

The move is somehow puzzling and yet logical, too. Minecraft is a huge hit across multiple platforms. It has sold nearly 54 million copies as of June. But why would Microsoft spend so much for, essentially, one game? We gathered thoughts from multiple industry analysts to try to come up with some answers.