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PayPal Withholding Indie Game Dev's €600,000 Account

epee1221 writes "Markus Persson, a.k.a. Notch, the developer of Minecraft, posted on his development blog today that PayPal limited his account with unspecified cause on August 25th. Since then, payments for the alpha version of Minecraft have continued accumulating while Notch has been unable to withdraw them, and the account now contains over €600,000. PayPal recently told him it may take up to two more weeks for things to get sorted out and that if they conclude that there is funny business involved, they will keep the money." This unfortunate news followed an announcement a few days ago that he and a friend would be starting a studio of their own to continue development on Minecraft and start working on a new project.

14 of 775 comments (clear)

  1. Paypall thanks you for the interest free loan by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

    The CEOs were bouncing around in their piles of money so exuberantly that one got sick in his. The amount of money in your account fits our CEO frolicking needs perfectly. Thank you for the interest free loan, and don't ask about the funny smell on your money when you do receive it.

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  2. Re:Return the money by hypergreatthing · · Score: 2, Funny

    Obviously they'll decide that the funny business is indeed happening. From Paypal's side. And they'll keep the money.

  3. Re:Paypal are notorious for this by zero_out · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wonder why my employer's WebSense filter blocked it as being "tasteless." Any ideas?

  4. Re:Sigh by bsDaemon · · Score: 4, Funny

    they may well be committing several laws

    Congress commits several laws every year, but no one's stopped them yet...

  5. Re:When is a bank not a bank by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Vogons go into a rage of poetry writing when thinking about Paypal Bureaucracy.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  6. Re:When is a bank not a bank by dziban303 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Give me your credit card number, expiration date, CVV code and billing zip code and I'll check to see if it's still in our system. Thanks for using PayPal©!

  7. Re:Has anyone asked.... by Beelzebud · · Score: 3, Funny

    I know, right? I thought ALL PC gamers just pirated games!

  8. Re:Paypal are notorious for this by jgagnon · · Score: 3, Funny

    The day I have to taste anything that comes up on my monitor is the day I stop using computers.

    --
    Remember to maintain your supply of /facepalm oil to prevent chafing.
  9. PayPal has done worse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    In 2003, I sold a radio at a hamfest for about $800... the guy dropped it at some point on his way home and tried to make me give him his money back.

    I refused, naturally, but since he had my email address, he somehow managed to get Paypal to take the money right out of my checking account and give it to him, even though the transaction had nothing to do with Paypal.

    I never did get that money back... or the radio.

  10. Re:Has anyone asked.... by Angst+Badger · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or why, with 600,000 in revenue, he's even using PayPal at all instead of just getting a merchant account with a real bank? Hell, *I* did that with a project that ended up making a whopping $750.

    --
    Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
  11. Re:When is a bank not a bank by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    If PayPal stole close to $1,000,000.00 US from me and I couldn't get it back through legal methods, I'd burn their fucking building to the ground with them in it. That's more money than a lot of people see in their entire lifetime.

  12. Re:When is a bank not a bank by Surt · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hah. I suggested paypal had serious problems in another thread and got jumped on by some paypal engineer. Bet he's enjoying this thread!

    --
    "Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
  13. Re:When is a bank not a bank by LordArgon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Go to a bank and ask about your options. After I got out of school and went to get my first credit card, I couldn't get one because I had no credit history and was no longer in the "terrible credit risk" demographic (see the documentary "Maxed Out," btw). Anyway, the bank had a "secured" card in which I prepaid (set my own credit limit with cash) and used it for a year. At the end of the year of responsible use, they gave me my money back and let me keep the credit limit. Now I have a credit history and have since obtained several more credit cards (which I max out and never pay! hahahah.... but not really)

  14. Re:When is a bank not a bank by StikyPad · · Score: 4, Funny

    I take it a step further and just use borrowed cards.