Lovers of sandbox explorer game Minecraft will be able to lose themselves in its world of blocky graphics, as the game launches on the Oculus Rift.
Global Xbox and PC users with the headset already playing the game will be able to get a free Windows 10 beta update to enter into the VR world.
The game is one of the first big titles to launch on the much hyped Facebook-owned Oculus Rift, which is set for its European launch next month.
Minecraft’s developer, Mojang, trumpeted the game’s arrival with an excited blog post: ‘How’s your face? Is it ready? Is it ready to have Minecraft right up in it? It’d better be: today we’re releasing a free update to Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta which will enable you to play Minecraft on Oculus Rift.’
Writing on Xbox Wire, the game’s AR/VR developer Mike McGrath, said: ‘For new and experienced players, we hope the VR experience in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta will illuminate just how powerful, evocative, and utterly immersive VR can really be.’
Included in the VR version of the game is a Minecraft ‘living room’ in which players can zoom out of the first person perspective and step back through a screen into their very own virtual room and continue to play the game on a screen.
This is the second bite of the VR cherry for Minecraft, with fans already able to play a limited version of the game on Samsung Gear VR.
But the new Oculus Rift version provides players with a new set of features.
According to Mojang, this includes tweaks to the in-play turning – making it more comfortable for players to look around their new VR world – as well as improved graphics.
A blog post on the Oculus Rift site said: ‘Build, explore and battle mobs from a fresh perspective.
‘With a VR headset on, coming face-to-face with monstrous mobs takes on new meaning; creeping into dark caves inspires even greater trepidation thanks to 3D audio; and the light of a gorgeous sunrise seems to envelop you more completely.’