Monthly subscription fees are indie, right?
Speaking from his office at the top of the thirty-story Mojang Towers skyscraper in central Stockholm, Persson stated that “we still like to think that we capture the ethos of an indie company. Look at the walls of the Claims Management department and you’ll find DOZENS of Nerf Guns! That makes us indie, right? And don’t even get me started on all the stock-options and loans we’ve been giving out to start-up companies – we’re confident that if we keep talking about and tweeting about indie developers, this helps us to remain “cool” in the eyes of gamers.”
While three years ago the company consisted entirely of Persson and his computer, in that time it has grown to become a world-spanning entity, employing thousands of people and having bought several major publishing houses – “How else do you think THQ sustains itself?” said CEO Carl Manneh. Since going public in 2011, the company has raised millions of dollars in venture capital, and has been able to hire market strategists, who, it is rumoured, order the company to delay and limit updates to their games in order to increase “buzz” and sales. This, at least, is the popular explanation for why no-one has any idea at all about what Scrolls is, other than knowing that it definitely isn’t Skyrim.
The future looks bright for the company, with Persson finishing off the interview by talking about his new “indie” DRM service. “It’s just as restrictive as Origin or uPlay, but if we call it “indie” then people will buy it. As Carl said, how else do you explain the latest Humble Bundle?”
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