An announcement went out today for a new beta for Minecraft. Known as the “Better Together” update, it is an attempt at unifying all of the various versions of Minecraft so that players can play together in-game, create, co-operate or compete together on massive servers, and access whatever swish skins and Marketplace adventure maps they own on any of their compatible devices.
The initial beta versions of the “Better Together” update will affect Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition and Minecraft: Pocket Edition (Android), with the beta inclusion for Minecraft: Xbox One Edition rolling out in the next few days. For those with the Xbox One Edition, you’ll be downloading a brand new version of the game for free.
New features include:
- Stained Glass
- Fireworks (with Elytra boost!)
- Parrots
- Banners
- Armor stands
- Jukebox and music discs
- Recipe Book
- Book and Quill
- Ravines
- COARSE DIRT – O to the M G
- New world start options: Starting Map, Bonus Chest, Trust Players
- New game rules: TNT Explodes, Natural Regeneration
- Added ‘/tickingarea' command to create areas that still update when no players are there
- Player permissions
- Zombie Villager spawn egg
- In-game host options
- New loading screens with funny and helpful tips
- How to Play screen
- Remix 3D and structure blocks
- Split-screen (Console only)
- World conversion
Here are the instructions for how to enter the beta.
Xbox One / Windows 10
You will need to own the digital version of the game. For the beta, disc owners are not supported – sorry!
Joining the Minecraft Beta on Windows 10 or Xbox One:
1. Go to the Store app on Xbox One or a Windows 10 PC.
2. Search for the Xbox Insider Hub app.
3. Download and install Xbox Insider Hub.
4. Launch the Xbox Insider Hub.
5. Navigate to Insider content > Minecraft Beta.
6. Select Join.
7. Have fun and find bugs!
Android
Head over here for a breakdown of how to access betas on Android.
The beta is live for the Android and Windows 10 versions, and will shortly roll out for the Xbox One version. There is no announced beta date for the other seven versions, nor is there a firm release date for the official release of “Better Together.”