MICROSOFT has completed the acquisition of Mojang, the developer of the popular Minecraft computer game, in a deal worth close to £1.5billion.

Stockholm-based Mojang is believed to have seen Minecraft, which lets players create structures, explore maps and engage in battles, downloaded more than 100 million times since its launch in 2009. More than half of those sales have been paid-for purchases.

Mojang said: "We've worked closely with Microsoft since 2012, and have been impressed by their continued dedication to our game and its development.

"We're confident that Minecraft will continue to grow in an awesome way."

Minecraft creator Markus Persson, who is known as Notch, said he felt uncomfortable being labelled as a chief executive or entrepreneur and will step down from Mojang soon.

He said: "Thank you for turning Minecraft into what it has become, but there are too many of you, and I can't be responsible for something this big.

"It's not about the money. It's about my sanity."

Mr Persson indicated he would continue to create games but had no desire to try to emulate the success of Minecraft. He added: "If I ever accidentally make something that seems to gain traction, I'll probably abandon it immediately."

Mojang's other co-founders Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser are also expected to leave the company.

Dundee-based 4J Studios has worked on the editions of Minecraft which are available for the Xbox and Playstation consoles.

Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft, said: "The Minecraft community is passionate and diverse, ranging across all ages and demographics.

"We respect the brand and independent spirit that has made Minecraft great, and we'll carry on the tradition of innovation to move the franchise forward."

Owners of the Xbox 360 console are said to have played two billion hours of Minecraft over the past two years. Around the world the game is thought to have 40 million active players.

Mojang, which employs around 40 people, made profits of around £61m on turnover of £200m in its most recent financial year.