A new augmented reality, mobile version of the popular Minecraft game looks to be on the way.
Microsoft ended the opening keynote of its Build developer conference with a teaser video showing what appeared to be an AR adaptation of Minecraft, the world-building game that came under its umbrella with the $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang in 2014. The video ended with the date May 17 and directed viewers to the Minecraft website.
What’s @Minecraft up to? Tune in to https://t.co/E7ZPoCQKus on May 17 to find out. #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/CVurJW4eWw
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 6, 2019
The game is expected to use Azure Spatial Anchors, a program for building “mixed reality apps that map, designate, and recall precise points of interest that are accessible across HoloLens, iOS, and Android devices.” This suggests the game could come to HoloLens as well.
The video shows Minecraft Creative Director Saxs Persson sitting on a bench outside the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, where Build is taking place. He leaves his phone on the bench, and it’s picked up by a bystander who sees the Minecraft AR game running on the device.
There were few details about the new game, but it did have a similar look to the ever-popular Pokémon Go, the smash hit title that has been downloaded more than 500 million times. Pokémon Go maps its world on top of the real world, using actual points of interest as gathering points in the game. It will be interesting to see if the new Minecraft game adopts a similar philosophy or if Microsoft will take things in a different direction.
