Mojang's 'Director of Fun' Lydia Winters speaks about 'Minecraft' during the Microsoft Xbox E3 press conference at the Galen Center on June 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Christian Petersen)
After months of speculation, Microsoft has finally confirmed that its blockbuster sandbox video game Minecraft will be getting support for Oculus VR in the coming weeks.
Microsoft and Swedish developer Mojang made the announcement on Thursday, July 28 in a blog post commemorating the one-year anniversary of Minecraft's release on Windows 10.
It will be a free update for existing users of Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta and those who wish to get in on the action have until July 29 to download the beta in order to get the update without spending a dime.
Oculus Rift support will allow Minecraft gamers to play the game in virtual reality and immerse themselves in a blocky 3D world as they explore and gather resources to build shelter and survive against monsters and zombies.
Minecraft already has a VR version available on the Samsung Gear VR headset, the Minecraft Pocket Edition, which it launched in April. However, the Rift will give players a more enhanced experience with features like external camera tracking.
"If you already own Windows 10 Edition and an Oculus Rift, you can jump right in and start experiencing Minecraft in a whole new way," Minecraft executive producer Jesse Merriam wrote. He added that the company was going to sweeten the post by offering a downloadable roller coaster map for free.
Check out the map below:
The Oculus Rift edition of Minecraft will include all of the four main gameplay modes currently available on the Desktop version, including Survival Mode, Creative Mode and Multiplayer Mode, according to Tech Crunch.
The move is part of Microsoft's bid to push users to upgrade to Windows 10, without which users cannot play Minecraft on Oculus VR.
Like its pocket edition, The Oculus version of Minecraft is coded in C++ as opposed to Java and lacks some of the features available in the original version. However, Microsoft intends to make improvements to the new version.
