Microsoft in talks to buy Swedish game maker

Neither the US technology giant nor the game maker Mojang AB have commented on the claims, which were originally made in the The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Minecraft has won a huge following, with players spending countless hours managing resources, building with virtual blocks, and engaging "mobs" – good or bad guys – in an open world they are free to shape.

Microsoft could be interested in leveraging the large cult of Minecraft fans to boost the popularity of Xbox One video game consoles, which are being outsold by the Sony PlayStation 4.

Mojang has reportedly sold more than 50 million copies of Minecraft since the first version was released in 2009.