Notch to receive BAFTA Special Award

BAFTA's announced it's to reward the Special Award to Mojang's Markus 'Notch' Persson at the BAFTA Video Game Awards next week.

The Minecraft creator is being given the reward for his work on the game and his contribution to the development community.

"I've always considered the BAFTA Awards to be one of the most prestigious awards one can receive, and I was very happy when it expanded to cover video games in 1998," said Persson.

"When I first heard that I would receive a BAFTA Special Award, I was blown away and deeply humbled. Going to London to accept this award is going to be a very positive and interesting experience that I'm very much looking forward to."

BAFTA Video Games Committee chairman Ray Maguire added: "Markus is an inspiration for all games developers and this Award reflects the determination and innovation that he continues to show to both the developer community and to gamers worldwide.

"We are thrilled that he will accept this Award and are excited to see what new developments he will introduce to the industry in years to come.”

Persson launched Minecraft in an alpha stage in May 2009, before getting a full release last November.

In that time, he's also co-founded Mojang, which is currently developing Scrolls for a release this year. It moved into the publishing business last year with the release of Cobalt.