Pokemon Go: “You can catch Pokemon in Real Life using your phone!”
Minecraft: “Hold my pickaxe!”
Augmented reality games are fun, but nothing could beat Pokemon Go’s popularity. Will it change once we get Harry Potter: Wizards Unite? Or will they both lag behind the new Minecraft game?
The new game is called Minecraft Earth, and it’s an Android/iOS mobile game that uses AR to entertain players. Minecraft fans will surely jump at the opportunity to test it right from the beginning, and see all the new content that will be delivered in the AR game. We should expect different gameplay, but with all the core ideas –craft items, build, breed mobs, grow crops, and maybe do your best to fight off creeps!
Blocks Everywhere!
In an interview, Microsoft’s Stephen McHugh said that Minecraft Earth would cover the planet, adding that:
“So your neighborhood is blocks, you can walk through parks and neighborhoods and have different Minecraft adventures, you can find blocks and hidden chests. You can build everywhere … and go right inside your builds.”
Minecraft Earth will be free to play, and it’s said to be “player first and player-friendly” in terms of monetization – perhaps it will have in-app purchases for resources or time-savers, but the good news is that it won’t support ads.
Saxs Persson, the Creative Director, said in the blog post that announced the game that the devs used “state-of-the-art Microsoft technology like Azure Spatial Anchors AR tracking and PlayFab integration to bring the Minecraft Earth experience to life.”
Until today, Minecraft sold over 176 million copies, ranking as the highest-selling game of all times.
We’re ready to get crafty in Minecraft Earth and cannot wait for the closed beta, which will be launched sometime during the summer. Players can sign-up for the closed beta here – they must be 18 or older to participate. You can learn more about the game on Minecraft Earth official Twitter account.
