The tech giant Microsoft has announced that a beta version of the blockbuster game Minecraft will launch on Windows 10 on July 29.
Last year, Microsoft acquired Minecraft Mojang for $2.5 billion. The tech company has put Minecraft into each Microsoft platform: on HoloLens,on Xbox One and now Windows 10.
The owners of the PC version of Minecraft will get Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta for free, PCWorld reported. For others, it will cost $10 for an undetermined length of time.
The current versions of the game will not be replaced. However, Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition will leverage many features of the new operating system from Microsoft, including Xbox Live integration, controller and touchscreen, seamless switching between mouse and keyboard and access to built-in game recording.
Given below are some highlights, as released by game creators Mojang
1. Explore, create and craft online with up to seven other friends using Xbox Live.
2. Play online with other Pocket Edition players thanks to a free update that should hit pretty soon after the beta arrives.
3. Switch between touch, controller and keyboard controls with ease
4. Carrots, pickaxes, potions, iron golems, villagers, armed skeletons, boats, pigs, chickens, baby squids and all the weird goodness you've come to expect from the game.
Last June, Minecraft impressed video game players with a demo at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) featuring Microsoft's augmented reality headset HoloLens. A creation from Minecraft seemed to pop up on a tabletop, with the headset wearer manipulating it through voice commands and physical gestures, according to The Armidale Express.