Minecraft cancels Oculus deal, blaming Facebook purchase

The founder of the popular video game Minecraft says Facebook "creeps me out" and has cancelled a deal with virtual reality headset maker that was just bought by Facebook for $2 billion.

• Facebook to buy Oculus virtual reality firm for $2 billion

Markus Persson, who also goes by the alias "Notch," tweeted Tuesday afternoon that his Stockholm-based company Mojang Games had been in talks with Oculusabout a possible version of Minecraft using its headset, Oculus Rift.

"I just cancelled that deal," he added. "Facebook creeps me out."

• Oculus backers turn on company after Facebook 'disgrace'

Minecraft is a hugely popular game available on PCs, consoles and mobile devices in which users can use blocks to build virtual worlds filled with landscapes, buildings, monsters and "anything you can imagine." Users can also play with each other over the internet. Since the game's launch in 2009, it has sold over 14 million copies. In 2012, the game reportedly earned Persson $100 million US.

• Listen to 'A parent's guide to Minecraft' on CBC's All Points West

In blog post Tuesday, Persson explained that he had visited Oculus's offices as a reward for backing them with $10,000 on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. There, he had spoken with the company about a "slimmed down version of Minecraft" for the Oculus.

• Read MarkusPersson's blog post

"So I suggested that, and our people started talking to their people to see if something could be done," Persson wrote on his blog, Notch.net. "And then, not two weeks later, Facebook buys them."

I did not chip in 10 grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition.- Markus Persson, Minecraft

Persson said Facebook's changes to its platform to build user numbers and a social experience for those users have made things difficult for developers of Facebook games.

"Theres nothing about their history that makes me trust them, and that makes them seem creepy to me," he added.

Persson also expressed displeasure about what the Oculus deal with Facebook means for his crowdfunding contribution.

"I did not chip in 10 grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition," he said.

Persson is not the only Oculus crowdfunding backer who feels that way. Some commenters on Oculus's Kickstarter page accuse the company of selling out, and some arecancelling their pre-orders for the Oculus Rift headset.

Oculus raised $2.4 million in its 2012Kickstarter campaign almost 10 times its goal of $250,000.

Perssonwrotethat despite his refusal to work with Facebook, he "definitely" wants to be "a part of VR." He noted that competitors to Oculus are emerging, and an "excellent" mod or modification of Minecraft called Minecrift already exists to let users experience the game in virtual reality.

Facebook declined to comment beyond CEO Mark Zuckerberg's initial statementabout the acquisition.