Minecraft was recently released for the Xbox One, having been a hit on PC and then Xbox 360 for a while, but that doesn't seem to be the end of the game's tie-in with Microsoft. Reports suggest that the software giant is in talks with developer Mojang to buy the entire studio lock, stock and big, blocky barrel.

The Wall Street Journal claims that Microsoft is in "serious discussions" to buy the Swedish development firm for more than $2 billion and that the deal could even happen as early as this week.

It might come as a surprise to some, especially considering that founder Markus "Notch" Persson has been vocal in the past about larger companies and their financial might. He even scrapped plans of an Oculus Rift version of Minecraft after maker Oculus VR was bought by Facebook.

In addition, the game has only just been released for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, so it would beg the question on what Microsoft would plan to do with those versions should the sale be completed. Would it continue to support them with future updates?

It's definitely an interesting strategy for Microsoft, which has looked to expand its growing network of in-house gaming studios of late and is aggressively signing exclusivity deals with other games publishers in order to combat the sales dominance of the PS4 over its own Xbox One next generation console.

Rise of the Tomb Raider will be an Xbox exclusive when it arrives next year, will Minecraft 2?

READ: Minecraft: Xbox One Edition launching this Friday, from £4