In an effort to keep its two-and-a-half billion dollar investment a worthy one, Microsoft and the team at Xbox have been working hard at creating new, meaningful updates to the massive franchise. At their E3 presentation this morning, their work seems to be paying off as the team has unveiled two massive updates to Minecraft as gamers know it.
First up, the game is getting completely overhauled to allow for cross-platform play. Gamers playing Minecraft on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, Windows PC, and VR devices will all be able to exist in the same world, regardless of platform. This will make it that much easier to connect with friends and family who also currently enjoy the game but chose a different platform to play it on.
The nature of this update also means that content purchased on one device will be automatically available for download on another device for no additional charge.
Curiously absent from the list of cross-play is PlayStation 4 support, though neither Sony nor Microsoft have an official statement on why that may be. Microsoft has said that they would like for every modern version of the game to be cross-platform, but that it is up to the console manufacturer to make this happen as well.
The other major update to Minecraft is what Microsoft and Mojang are calling the Super Duper Graphics Pack. The free update will boost the game’s graphics to include 4K HDR visuals with upgraded lighting, shadows, and water physics. The company was sure to stress that the game’s graphical upgrade is an option, however, as the development team (and likely thousands, if not millions of games around the world) are quite fond of the game’s classic, blocky, textured look.
Minecraft‘s next updates get crafted into existence this Fall.