After recently teasing some kind of augmented reality experience, Microsoft has announced Minecraft Earth, which is essentially an AR version of the popular video game.
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Players will be able to build structures or landscapes on a flat surface like, say, a living room table, then take that build and deploy it in the real world where you can explore and interact with it. For example, you could build a blocky replica of your own house and roll that shit out in a vacant lot or park.
Collaboration with other players seems to be a big focus with Minecraft Earth, but not compulsory. There will be a survival element to the game as well so you can expect to see some enemies getting around the AR world.
You can suss out the reveal trailer below.
Resource collecting will also play some role in the game, but a lot of how it will actually work is still unclear. I guess you could say there is an element of Pokémon GO here, but that really only comes down to its location-based gameplay. Outside of that, Minecraft Earth is shaping up to be a fresh and exciting take on mobile AR gaming.
Microsoft says it will run a small beta at some point during our winter, but hasn’t specified a date just yet. According to an FAQ, Minecraft Earth will be free-to-play on both Android and iOS devices, so we’ll have to wait to hear more about what will be available to purchase and how it will be priced.
We’ll likely hear more about the game within the next few weeks, probably at E3 in early June.
