For most students, spending the school day exploring an alien planet in their favorite video game would be a dream come true. And for some students, that dream is just around the corner with the launch of Minecraft: Education Edition, a school-friendly version of the popular video game.
The cloud-based game is available today in 50 countries and 11 languages on a subscription basis. Subscriptions run at $5 per user for a year and include access to the Minecraft game as well as the Classroom Mode companion app for educators.
The game’s community website also offers resources like suggested lesson plans. These include worlds where students colonize an alien planet to learn about government and engineering and projects that teach students how to use fractions.
Education Edition has been in beta testing since June, with over 50,000 students and educators helping to refine the game.
The Classroom Mode app is new to today’s launch, and allows educators to see data on the Minecraft world and the students using it. Through the app, educators can control world settings, communicate with students, and manage the class in-game.
Education Edition is Microsoft’s update to MinecraftEDU, which the tech giant bought from TeacherGaming LLC earlier this year. Microsoft acquired Mojang, the game developer behind Minecraft, for $2.5 billion in 2014.
