…from an utter crack-up:
It’s 7 p.m. on a Monday in Stockholm, and Markus Persson sits on the terrace of his ninth-story office, sipping the speedball of alcoholic beverages, a vodka Red Bull. Three hours ago he committed to not drinking today, still in recovery from a 12-drink Thursday bender while nursing an ear infection. Yet here we are, embracing heavy-handed pours of Belvedere while surveying the workers in adjacent high-rises hacking away at their keyboards.
“He looks worried,” says Persson, pointing to a man in a building across the street rubbing his face and staring blankly into a computer screen.
After a few more seconds of looking at the man, Persson seems bothered by the scene and darts inside. For the better part of the last five years the 35-year-old Swede was that guy, a man who constantly stressed about his creation, Minecraft, the bestselling computer game of all time.
Normally I’d say six months, but it takes real skill and dedication to piss away a couple of billion dollars (which is what he got out of selling Minecraft to Microsoft). My bet’s on Persson’s body giving out first. – And I’m not writing that with any kind of ghoulish glee, or anything. My kids love Minecraft. It’s a good game. Markus Persson deserved every dime of that payout.
But dang but if I was one of the man’s friends or family members and I had just read the article I’d be frightened for the guy right now.
Pretty sad. But maybe he’ll get tired of blowing all that money and straighten out.
Not Markus’ fault, but that 2 billion dollar payout indirectly lost me my job. MS’s games division is in bad shape these days and after blowing that massive wad on Minecraft, they had to cancel a bunch of projects, mine included. Still, sad to hear Markus is having a hard time.