Gaming News

It is time to stop waiting and start playing. A pre-release of Minecraft 1.9 is now available. We are very excited to enter the final stage before the new version is released.First the answer to the most asked question: We are currently planning to release the final version of Minecraft 1.9 next week, on Thursday, 25th of February 2016.And now to the usual release notes. Once we release the final Minecraft 1.9 update, we will also provide a complete list of changes between Minecraft 1.8 and Minecraft 1.9.Notable changes:Bugs fixed Increased durability of shields Some crystals in the end are protected by cages again Added 34.7% more hype for Minecraft 1.9Bugs fixed:[Bug MC-96863] - Marker ArmorStand Should Not Have...

Hello!When you play Minecraft, you never know what you’re going to find when you break past those next few blocks, and that feeling of anticipation can be quite exciting, yes?Well, we wanted to bring that same sense of discovery and creativity, but with cool monthly shipments of Minecraft gear, exclusive items, and neat DIY crafting recipes! Introducing the new and improved, Mine Chest! Now you can subscribe for a monthly box of Minecraft goodness, even some items that you can’t mine anywhere else.This brilliant chest travels around all different areas of the Minecraft world collecting wonderful things to be delivered straight to you!Currently, only our US Minecrafters will be able to subscribe, but don’t worry, we are working...

A snapshot on a Monday? How is that possible? We could just pretend it’s Wednesday, or explain what’s going on. So, here we go:It’s actually Wednesday, so all is good……just kidding. It’s not Wednesday and here’s the real reason:As we get closer to the first pre-release for Minecraft 1.9, we will release snapshots more frequently to get more feedback on our changes and bug fixes. In this phase of development all the bug reports and feedback on Reddit or via Twitter are helping us a lot to work on the right issues to get to a stable release.Notable changes:Bugs fixed Removed the cages that were protecting the crystals during the dragon fight Treat every day as if it’s Wednesday internallyBugs fixed in this snapshot:[Bug...

Hello cube heads! :)I hope you’re as excited as we’re, because we’ve been really looking forward to this!So let’s get to the juicy bits! Here’s the super awesome exciting change log! 0.14.0 is a bit focused on redstone pieces, but also other things.Repeaters, comparators, dispensers, droppers, hoppers, trapped chests, minecraft with chest/tnt/furnace/hopper (pewh) Witches! Make sure you’re avoiding the splash potions they’re throwing at you! They can make you move slower or even poison you. Spooky stuff! Armour dying. Tired of the usual look? Why not try the other 10 000 000 colours? Put your pants in the cauldron together with a dye and enjoy the new design! Item frames. Show off your adventurous loot or put up one of...

Some bugs in the game are more annoying than others. So we decided to take care of some of the bugs that were good candidates for winning a “most popular bugs” contest. We are very sorry for closing tickets with a large fan base. These issues will be missed, but we are relatively sure that their fans will find other interesting bugs to follow.We are also getting very close to the first 1.9 pre-release. Please make sure you vote on the most severe bugs in the bug tracker if you want to make sure we look at them before releasing 1.9.Notable changes:Better riding mechanics for boats, horses, minecarts and saddled pigs The elytra texture now defaults to the cape texture if no custom texture is uploaded and the player owns a cape...

Hello!We’ve made even more skins for you players of Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition Beta.In celebration of Year of The Monkey, we’ve created a pack based on Journey to the West - an ancient Chinese novel by Wu Cheng’en. You might not have heard of that, but you probably know about such awesome things as Digimon, Monkey, and Dragon Ball. All of those were inspired by Journey to the West.The story is full of over the top, awesome-looking, adventurers, which is why we thought it would be an excellent fit for Minecraft. Check below for an illustrative moving image.Everyone can download Red Boy and Guanyin for free, but pay $1.99 (or equivalent) and you’ll get Princess Iron Fan, Lord Hundred-Eyes, Bull Demon King...

It’s been some time since we last checked in on new maps for Minecraft Realms, so let’s get into it! Here are a bevy of new adventure maps, survival starters, and minigames ready for you to play right now!Half Heart Race by Team WoolooSince the 2015 Minecon speedruns, it seems there’s been a bit more interest in going really fast in Minecraft. This map lets you do that with up to ten players! Are you up to it, with just a half of a heart of health? For an overview of the challenges you’ll face, take a look at this handy map panorama.Jump Arena by NateT_BirdJump Arena is rooted in Minecraft, but feels like its own game. Custom textures and command blocks add new features from double-jumping to confetti guns. Run, jump, earn...

Hello!Some time this year we’re planning on launching a new, upgraded, Minecraft.net. It will include fancy features, community content, and extra special secret stuff that we don’t want to share quite yet. It’s going to be spectacular.But that’s some time in the future. For now, we’re testing out an early redesign of Minecraft.net. It’ll include bugs, typos, and placeholder bits and pieces that might not work as you’d expect. It doesn’t show off our awesome merch. There is a high chance it’ll explode into a cloud of pixels.Still, we’re happy for you to have a poke around. You can log in, change your skin, and do most of the things that the current Minecraft.net supports. Soon we’ll be setting up a place for you to send us...

This weeks snapshot contains only few fixed for bugs reported on the bug tracker. We started looking at the Realms integration to make sure everything is up to date with the changes that were introduced during the lifetime of the 1.8.x versions.We also started automating more of our internal workflows. It doesn’t make much sense to mention that here, because it’s nothing you can see in the game and it only makes our lives easier as developers, but for the sake of having a slighly longer post this week I decided to keep it in here.Notable changes:Fixed some bugs Tweaked boats a bit more Hidden a small recipe change Endermites or now 2.44% more happy than before, especially in boatsBugs fixed in this snapshot:[REDACTED]...

Cobalt is available to download for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Steam for Windows. It costs $19.99 / £15:99 / €19.99. Stop reading this and download it right now!Still here? OK - here’s some information to help you make a more informed decision.Our new launch trailer!A copy-and-pasted description from our Steam store page“Forget everything you’ve learned about combat. Cobalt’s slo-mo mechanic lets you perform moves that other games can’t comprehend. Discover the secrets of a distant colony in a cosmic campaign, take on challenges and rule the leaderboards, or face off against others in local and online multiplayer.”A press-release type thingSTOCKHOLM, Sweden, January 2nd, 2016.Leading developer of video games and reasonable...

HELLO!It’s an exciting time for fans of good video games.Cobalt will be released on Steam for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 tomorrow! It’s going to be glorious! I’ve written about why Cobalt is so great in a previous post, but for now, I’m going to let Oxeye’s series of tutorial videos speak for themselves.I’ll be back in the morning with a new trailer and a big bag of HYPE!Owen - @bopogamel and an excited Oxeye Game Studio.Continue reading...

Yet another week has passed, lots of bugs have been inspected, turned around and hopefully fixed. We’re inching ever closer to 1.9 and our focus is on stability, performance and the remaining polish.This week’s snapshot is all about boats! We did another iteration on them so please have a swim with them (watch it, they can sink!).As always we’d like to thank everyone who is reporting bugs, testing the snapshots and sending us feedback on our changes. While we get closer to 1.9 this will become more and more important. Please continue doing it and thanks to you all!Notable changes:Boats are 7% moar boatier. Boats. Boats can sink. Boats > lily pads. Did someone mention boats? Updated sounds, try standing in the rain!Bugs...

Hello!We are back with a delicious beta test of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, available for download for Android devices. Continuing to the second phase of discovering Redstone with Droppers, Hoppers and Dispensers - just to mention a few!Currently the beta test is available to Google Play Store users, but keep in mind that this update will be coming to Minecraft: Pocket Edition and the Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta in the near future.Here’s a quick explanation of how to join and leave the test group. We strongly recommend you make backups of your existing worlds first.You’ll need three things to join the test:An Android device that can run Minecraft Pocket Edition. Minecraft: Pocket Edition Android purchased from Google...

Here is a new snapshot. We made it. For you. So that you can see what we’ve been working on most recently and tell us what you think about it. Nothing in it is final, everything could change before Minecraft 1.9 is relased, but most things won’t.Some things that were broken in the previous snapshot (16w02a) are not fixed or changed back in this snapshot, because we had to focus on few very important bigger tasks to work on before we can go back working on smaller changes. This is nothing to worry about and perfectly normal so close to finishing a release, so don’t get upset if you see things that are still in the same state as last week. We’ll take care of them soon and definitely before we call Minecraft 1.9 done.Once again, thanks...

Hello!News from a slightly different, arguably smarter, place today. We’re announcing Minecraft: Education Edition.Of course, every Minecraft player learns essential life-skills like tree-punching and good Creeper-defence but, when used in the right way, Minecraft can help people around the world to learn lots more.Over the past few years, educators around the world have been using Minecraft to explore subjects that might not spring to mind when you think of our block-based game. Since 2011, MinecraftEdu - a version of Minecraft built for the classroom - has been used in over 40 countries. Lots of people have learned loads of things since then.Microsoft has acquired MinecraftEdu and is building upon its proven success to create...

The code-wizards at Oxeye Games Studio have outdone themselves. We present… BET ON COBALT.Team Strike is one of Cobalt’s most intricate modes. And it makes for a fantastic spectator sport, even when it’s played by BOTS. With that in mind we’ve set up a two week twitch stream where teams of bots battle each other to the death. TWO WEEKS of awesome.But what’s a sport without a little wager and real-life prizes? Pointless, that’s what.HOW DO I BET ON BET ON COBALT?This is where things get really exciting. BET ON COBALT gives you the chance to bet Volts (which have no real money value) on the outcome of each match. you start with 100 volts. It’s up to you whether you keep things simple and just vote on the winning team of each...

Hello!I bring even more exciting news for Wii U owners. Just a few months ago you got Minecraft, and now I’m delighted to announce that Minecraft: Story Mode is coming to Wii U this Thursday, January 21st.The Wii U version will feature off-TV play and mirroring for the Wii’s GamePad controller, so you can play when someone else is doing less-fun things on the TV. You can even use the nifty touch interface if joysticks and buttons ain’t your bag.The first episode will cost $4.99 or equivalent, but you can also buy a season pass for $19.99. That way, you’ll get access to episodes 2-5 as they become available to download.Minecraft: Story Mode is an episodic game series from Telltale Games. You play as Jesse who can be a male or...

Hello!I bring exciting news! We’ve locked down Cobalt’s release date. It’s coming to Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Steam for PC on February 2nd. It’ll cost $19.99 or equivalent.I am slightly biased, but it’s worth mentioning that Cobalt is an excellent video game. Your experience may vary, but I’ve been playing the multiplayer for over three years, and I still think it’s great. Why? Read on for an impartial breakdown of Cobalt’s awesomeness. Note that Cobalt is developed by Oxeye Game Studio and published by Mojang. I work for Mojang.ROLLINGRolling things in real life isn’t usually that much fun. Well, it’s kinda fun. But rolling in Cobalt is extremely fun, especially when you do it mid-battle. Time a manoeuvre correctly and you...

A new year has started and it’s time to celebrate it with a new Minecraft snapshot. The list of things we want to finish before the 1.9 release is getting shorter, more bugs are getting fixed, fewer new bugs are getting introduced.Thanks to everyone who is reporting bugs, testing the snapshots and sending us feedback our changes. You are all helping to make 1.9 awesome.Notable changes:Fixed more bugs Less rendering issues with glow effects More balancing of the combat related mechanics Tamed artificial enderdragons (artificial means /summon) Changed everything, then changed it backBugs fixed in this snapshot:[Bug MC-779] - Mobs are displayed outside of their spawner [Bug MC-1072] - No Translation for “Air” in the superflat...

Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you had a good ‘un!Just a quick note to let you know that at 15:00 CET tomorrow, Lord of Minecraft and Oxeye Game Studio developer, Jens Bergensten will be playing Cobalt LIVE on air. I’ll be sitting close-by, pestering him with questions and trying to distract his l33t play.The stream will be live at www.twitch.tv/jebox.It’s going to be absolutely spectacular, and you should definitely tune in! Don’t worry if you’re in bed/school/work at that time though - the stream will be available to watch at a later date too.See you tomorrow!Owen - @bopogamel and @Jeb_Continue reading...

Hey everyone!It’s been a busy, eventful, year but it’s finally time to sit back, eat loads of food, and play unhealthy amounts of video games.We’s like to take a moment to thank every last one of you for continuing to support us for all these years, and for inspiring us to make Minecraft into something truly special.See you in 2016!Owen - @bopogamel and the rest of the Mojangstas.Continue reading...

Hello!Lots of you caught our Festive Livestream last week but, thanks to timezones, a lot of you were sleeping/in school/doing other stuff. For that reason, it’s now available on-demand!If you’re playing on a Windows 10 or Android device, it’s possible to download the map featured in the stream and play it! We’ve zipped them up and made them available for download here. If you’re not sure how to use the maps, follow the directions in this handy text document.Have a great holiday season, everyone! See you next year.Owen - @bopogamelContinue reading...

We want Minecraft to be enjoyed by as many players as possible. A big hurdle for a lot of people wanting to play the PC/Mac version has been that the website where you buy the game so far only has been available in English, despite the game itself having been available in multiple languages for several years thanks to our awesome community translators. However, after a recent update, minecraft.net is now for the first time ever available in multiple languages!Initially we’ve focused on the most crucial bits of the website, where you register for and buy Minecraft. These are now available in 14 different languages with some additional regional variations. In addition to this we’ve also added prices in 12 new currencies (previously only...

Hello!We’ve just updated Minecraft for Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, and Playstation 4 with a staggering amount of features. Yes, we’re constantly improving Minecraft on all platforms but this is actually our biggest update ever, bringing the console versions closer to the current PC build than they’ve ever been before.To prove this, I present the following changelog which will require significant amounts of vertical scrolling. From henceforth, this update will be known as “Update 1.8.8.”Two quick notes about 1.8.8 on other consoles before we get into it: the update is slightly delayed for Minecraft on Playstation Vita so expect it to arrive in the next few days. And, though we’re working hard to bring these features to...

Hello!We’re happy to announce that Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 4: will be available on all platforms this December 22nd! And I have a trailer!For what it’s worth, Episode 4 is my favourite section of Minecraft: Story Mode so far. It includes cameos from the cutest mobs in the game, a journey to a distant land, and the [REDACTED] of [REDACTED]. It really is quite [REDACTED].Have a [REDACTED] holiday, everyone![REDACTED] - @bopogamelContinue reading...

Hello!It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was writing about Nintendo. Now the day has finally come! Minecraft: Wii U Edition is rolling out to eStores worldwide.Minecraft: Wii U Edition costs $29.99 or equivalent and comes bundled with six of our most popular add-on packs, giving you the chance to tweak the styling of your in-game character and world. The Battle & Beasts Skin Pack, Battle & Beasts 2 Skin Pack, Natural Texture Pack, City Texture Pack, Fantasy Texture Pack, and Festive Mash-up Pack are all included.Just like all editions of Minecraft, Wii U Edition will be updated over time with fixes and features. Today, Minecraft: Wii U Edition stands at version 1.6.4 (if you compare it to our other console releases), but...

Update: Snapshot 15w51b is now available and fixes a crash in the AI and pathfinding code.The snapshots decided to take a vacation to celebrate christmas, but we could convince them of one last appearance before they disappear for the rest of the year. But no worries, the developers are also on vacation, so there won’t be any changes in the game that you could miss.As a special guest star we have the bug fix for one of our most popular recent bugs included in this weeks snapshot. The world generator will now no longer take a coffee break while the player is riding a horse or using a boat. And I was told that even riding a minecart is on that list.Notable changes:Fixed many more bugs The glow effect is now 23% better looking...

Hello!The holidays are almost upon us! Family, friends, food, fantastic video games.We know you guys like dressing up at this time of year, so we created a festive skin pack for Pocket Edition as well as the Windows 10 Edition beta. It’s available to download today and costs $1.99 or equivalent.The pack includes festive classics like Santa, his wife, and an elf, but we’ve also made a bundle of wintery looks that are… like… totes wearable throughout the rest of winter. Dedicated skin enthusiasts will also notice that this is the first pack for Windows 10 Edition Beta and Pocket to include extra geometry. That basically means we’ve tweaked the character models slightly to make them look extra cool.In other news, we’ve quashed...

Hello!It seems the holiday spirit has gotten the best of us. We’re reducing the price of Minecraft Realms, and offering free 30-day trials to anyone who hasn’t previously owned a Realm.I don’t know what Realms is! I am confusedRealms is a safe, simple way to enjoy an online Minecraft world with friends. Realms worlds are always available and only open to people you invite, so you don’t need to worry about mean people blowing up your creations or stealing your resources. Only the host of the world needs to pay, and up to ten players can hang out on a Realm at any one time.Realms supports loads of exciting mini-games and custom spawns, and the owner of the Realm can switch between them at will. Though we’re excited to bring...

Hey!As you might have noticed from our last update, Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta have been getting a lot of love over the past few months. To celebrate, we’ve created a brand-new trailer that shows off some of the newer features to a soothing melody. It really is quite charming.Minecraft: Pocket Edition is available on the App Store and the Google Play store. Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta runs on Windows 10, obv!All editions feature snazzy cross-play with the others so you can play with all your buddies, no matter their device. Give them a try if you haven’t already!Have a great day, everyone.Owen - @bopogamelContinue reading...