Microsoft has started to tease what appears to be a new Minecraft game for mobile devices. The software giant used a video at the end of the company’s Build 2019 keynote today to show Minecraft in augmented reality, running on a phone. In the video, Minecraft creative director Saxs Persson leaves his phone on a bench outside the Washington State Convention Center where Microsoft’s Build developer conference is being held. A passerby picks it up and is able to see Minecraft running in AR, suggesting that Microsoft is preparing a new game.
It’s not clear what this Minecraft game will be, but it could be a killer app for augmented reality. We’ve not seen many apps or games since Pokémon Go that have demonstrated the potential for augmented reality, and Pokémon Go has been downloaded more than 500 million times.
Microsoft isn’t commenting further about any plans for Minecraft AR. The teaser also notes that more information will be coming on May 17th, the 10-year anniversary of Minecraft. Microsoft has previously shown Minecraft running on the HoloLens headset, but that was simply a tech demo rather than a new game. Microsoft’s teaser feels like something bigger, especially as it’s clearly tied to 10 years of Minecraft. We should learn a lot more on May 17th.
The Minecraft studio added another zero to last month's $10K donation to charity: water.
It wasn't the smoothest weekend ever for Minecraft studio Mojang, which rolled out the largest update in the game's history and very shortly thereafter discovered that it had turned the game's AI-controlled villagers into hyperactive, hyper-horny, and completely out-of-control jerks. But there's a spot of good news amidst all of that, too.
In March, Mojang donated $10,000 to charity: water, a non-profit organization that works to make safe drinking water accessible in developing countries. Last week, it pledged to bounce that donation to $100,000, once a new map and skin pack called The Travelling Trader had been downloaded 100,000 times.
“663 million people currently lack access to clean water (that’s almost 1 in 10 people), which makes the great work of charity: water absolutely essential. They want to bring clean water to as many people as possible, and we want to help them more,” Mojang wrote. “Charity: water estimates that the number of people impacted by a $100,000 donation is over 3,300. So all you have to do is download a great map and skin pack, and you’ll help us help a fantastic cause!”
The pack was made by “excellent content creators” Jigarbov Productions, and it's free, which made achieving the goal almost inevitable. Even so, the quickness with which it happened is pretty impressive:
Microsoft announced today that it will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of Minecraft's release in May. Original creator Marcus “Notch” Persson will not be taking part.
Recently introduced to Minecraft is the new Village and Pillage add-on, bringing a new wave of aspirations to the villager NPCs and prompting them to develop their day-to-day activities. In fact, it might have worked too well, because now the locals are working, sleeping, and—quite disturbingly—breeding inside player homes.
Have they no shame? Numerous reports of nosy neighbors have appeared on Reddit since the update launched, spanning a wide variety of complaints. As reported by Kotaku, players have come home to find the villagers sleeping in their beds, small children jumping on said beds, stealing crops, and breeding wherever they please. There have even been reports of villager heads popping off while they sleep. No matter where your home is located, place it close enough to a village, and they will most certainly stop by. Fortunately, their interactions are always peaceful at the least.
But have no fear; if you've recently come across these pesky villagers invading your home, the community has already responded with a few solutions. One Twitter user discovered an easy fix with a fishing rod, pulling any unwanted NPC out of your bed. And others have reported that the villagers aren't too good with stairs or gates, giving you a few options to protect your home. But perhaps the most important thing on the list is to simply have enough beds and workstations in the village for everyone. This should keep your neighbors well away from your house in the future, as they'll have plenty to keep occupied.
As of now, there has yet to be an official statement on the villagers. But we'll get back to you on any potential fixes in the future. In the meantime, enjoy the not-so-peaceful interaction of the once tranquil NPCs.
After being added to Xbox Game Pass, Minecraft fans have more to shout about this month as the game has received it’s long awaiting “Village and Pillage” update.
Version 1.14 brings with it a host of new features and animals, including adorable panda’s (and bamboo to accompany them), cartography, pillagers and crossbows. The pillagers have different professions, so expect to see butchers, shepherds and clerics inhabiting the world the next time you load into the game.
As well as the above we have fletching tables, a composter, foxes, junction blocks and ravagers, which are giant armoured bulls. As someone who hasn’t played Minecraft in a while, I’m fairly confused too, dear reader. Players can also find wandering traders who travel across the landscape with a llama in tow, selling their wares. It all sounds a bit Breath of the Wild to me, which can only be a good thing for Minecraft fans looking for a more gritty adventure.
One of the more important sections of the patch notes makes light of the fact that baby pandas can sneeze and startle their guardians, and the new endangered mob have personalities, and can be “lazy, playful, worried or aggressive.” It’s nice to see some extra accessibility features available too, including a UI screen reader and a text-to-speech system.
It’s hard to believe, but it has been nearly a decade since Minecraft first appeared. On May 10, the game will see the 10-year anniversary of its original pre-classic release. Through years of additions, changes, and being sold to Microsoft, Minecraft became a worldwide phenomenon, selling about as many copies as the Bible.
The development team at Mojang has just released the newest update to the game, version 1.14. This version is formally known as the Village and Pillage Update. It adds loads of new blocks, mechanics, and bugfixes, as well as a new lighting system and reworked textures. On today’s episode of ShackStream, we continue our progress on the homely mountain love shack and will begin to venture outwards into the unknown wilderness.
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I weird bug is preventing owners of the Minecraft video game on Nintendo Switch from backing up their games to the Nintendo Online cloud service.
Many gamers on Reddit and Twitter had begun to wonder if the feature had deliberately been disabled due to Minecraft also using the Xbox Live cloud service for cloud saves and transferring data between devices but a Minecraft community manager chimed in on Twitter and confirmed that it is in fact a bug. A fix will likely be pushed out with an update in the near future.
@HelenAngel I see that cloud saves are no longer supported, why is that?
Minecraft is an incredibly popular video game made by the, now Microsoft-owned, Mojang game studio. The game is available on most gaming platforms and supports cross-save and crossplay between the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, VR, and mobile devices.
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