Notch Calls Out OMGPOP CEO on Twitter

Minecraft developer Notch, or Markus Persson as he is less commonly known, is not one to shy away from voicing his opinions on Twitter, but typically its in an effort to praise another developer, like Double Fine's Tim Schafer, not to stir the pot. However, the Twitter back and forth that took place between Notch and OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter was about standing up for the little guy, OMGPOP's former employee Shay Pierce.

To better understand the current proceedings it's best to take a look at the events that led us to this point. After being bought by mobile and Facebook game conglomerate Zynga, OMGPOP (creators of the wildly popular Draw Something) had one hold out: Shay Pierce. Fearing that some of his previous work would not be protected under the new contract with Zynga, Pierce opted not to join Zynga and instead moved on.

Fast forward to this week, when OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter called out Pierce on Twitter, calling him the "weakest one on the whole team". He further made the issue worse by saying, "Selfish people make bad games. Good riddance!"

There's likely to be bad blood between a CEO, who just snagged a huge employer and a huge cash bonus after being purchased, and the employee who is making Zynga look bad, but to call him out on Twitter was uncalled for, and so Notch made him aware of that.

Notch and OMGPOP CEO Twitter Convo

It didn't take long for Porter to come to his senses — he has since deleted the tweet and issued an apology — but the damage, for all intents and purposes, has been done. It's ironic that a company just purchased by what is considered to be a less than noble publisher would be represented by an equally malicious individual.

As gamers and non-gamers alike continue to discover Draw Something it's unlikely that the magnitude of this bashing will be felt, but maybe getting called out by Notch will keep Porter in check.

Does reading Dan Porter's comments about his former employee color your opinions on Draw Something or OMGPOP? Has Zynga's business practices rubbed off on the OMGPOP CEO?

Source: Reddit