Minecraft Windows 10 Edition goes VR with Oculus Rift
Minecraft Windows 10 Edition goes VR with Oculus Rift. IMage credit: Youtube

Earlier this Thursday, July 28, the Swedish game developer Mojang announced on their official site that their signature smash-hit game Minecraft’ will get support for the Oculus Rift soon. This update will enable players to dive into the open world of “Minecraft”, as the virtual reality headset takes them into the ever-expanding cubic universe.

The announcement came as a post published to celebrate the first anniversary of the game’s Windows 10 Edition Beta, an exclusive release for PC gamers that have upgraded to Microsoft’s latest OS version.

Oculus Rift support for Minecraft represents the latest effort by Microsoft to get users to upgrade to Windows 10, as the game’s latest version will be the sole exclusive playable on virtual reality.

An endearing reminder on Mojang’s official post stated the fact that Windows 10 is a free upgrade until July 29, whereas “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta” is also free for all players who possess a copy of the PC game title. In addition to further entering the world of virtual reality gaming, the game makers also made available for free download a new roller coaster map.

Minecraft is celebrating its first year in Windows 10 with Oculus Rift 

The massive phenomenon first debuted as a beta version online and available to play for free in May 2009. Since then, the full PC version hit the shelves in November 2011 and after its massive success, the company has developed and released new versions supported by previous and current generation consoles.

The game received critical acclaim upon release to the public, as its innovative approach to gaming with a sandbox-like experience for players was considered revolutionary. In the game, players are initially spawned in a world in which they have to hunt for food, gather resources and build diverse block structures as they explore an infinite map.

Although there is no plot or story in “Minecraft”, individual achievements can be accomplished as the player dwells into the ever-expanding block world.

The original developer, Sweden-based independent company Mojang, was acquired by Microsoft back in late 2014 for a striking $2.5 billion.

Now the world’s second most sold video game of all time, “Minecraft” seeks to continue bringing unique experiences to the loyal players by taking them further deep into the cubic realm.

Samsung smartphones support the feature using cardboard

With the colossal success of the augmented reality mobile game “Pokémon Go”, it seems like the future of mobile technology lies in augmented reality. The mobile version of Minecraft, “Minecraft: Pocket Edition”, is available to play both on Android and iOS devices, and it is the first title in the franchise to give players a taste of VR.

The game can be played using Samsung’s VR headset, the Samsung Gear VR, which allows players to experience their Samsung smartphones in a revolutionary way for just $99. Not quite the range offered by the Facebook subsidiary Oculus and their Oculus Rift, a full-fledged VR headset released just a couple of months ago.

Oculus Rift competes in the market with the HTC Vive and upcoming devices like the PlayStation VR scheduled to release in October this year.

The specific date in which “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta” will receive support for the Oculus Rift was not specified by the developers, as they stated that the update would come in the upcoming weeks.

Source: Mojang