Gaming News

Minecraft snapshot 16w04a

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...

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Pocket Edition Beta 0.14.0 available for Android

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...

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Minecraft snapshot 16w03a

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...

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Announcing Minecraft: Education Edition

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 b-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...

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Play BET ON COBALT! Honestly, it’s great

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...

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Minecraft: Story Mode coming to Wii U this Thursday

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...

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Cobalt coming to Xbox and Steam on February 2nd

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. ROLLING Rolling 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...

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Minecraft snapshot 16w02a

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 back Bugs fixed in this snapshot: [Bug MC-779] - Mobs are displayed outside of their spawner [Bug MC-1072] - No Translation for “Air” in the superflat...

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Watch Jens play Cobalt LIVE

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...

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Happy holidays from all at Mojang!

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...

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Minecraft.net localization update

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...

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Here's the Pocket/Windows 10 Edition livestream!

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 - @bopogamel Continue reading...

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Playstation and Xbox Editions get humongous update

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...

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Minecraft: Wii U Edition now available to download

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...

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Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 4 out soon! New trailer!

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] - @bopogamel Continue reading...

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Minecraft snapshot 15w51b

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...

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Pocket Edition gets Festive Skin Pack! Bug fixes!

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...

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Realms price drop! Free trials!

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 confused Realms 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...

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Check out the new trailer for Pocket and Windows 10

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 - @bopogamel Continue reading...

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Minecraft snapshot 15w50a

Bugs. More bugs. They are everywhere. But more and more of them get removed every week. So here is another development snapshot that hopefully fixes more bugs than it introduces. If your “favorite” bug is still not fixed in this version, do not worry. All important bugs will be fixed before we even consider releasing a final 1.9 version of the game. As always, if you want us to look into certain bugs with higher priority, vote for the most annoying bugs on our bug tracker to draw our attention to them. We will eventually dedicate some time to look into the highest voted bugs irrespective of their severity. Notable changes: More bugs are fixed Order of issues on todo list inverted More sounds are still being added The AI is now...

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The making of Hour of Code

Hello! You might remember the Hour of Code tutorial we released a few weeks ago. It’s still around, so give it a try if you’d like to learn the basics of programming through a Minecraft-themed set of challenges. Creating the Hour of Code was a rewarding experience for everyone involved, and you guys seemed to really like it too. With that in mind, we created this chirpy video that explains some of the thinking behind development. If you’re having any issues progressing through the challenges, or introducing your friends/family/students to the Hour of Code, this tutorial from Steve Isaacs, a teacher at William Annin Middle School, might help. He manages to complete the Hour of Code in under 38 minutes, which might be some kind of...

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Minecraft coming to Nintendo Wii U

Hello! I bring exciting news! That’s a surprise, eh?* Anyway, now it’s 100% official. Minecraft is launching on Nintendo’s Wii U console on December 17th. It’ll cost $29:99 or equivalent, will be available to download on the eShop, and comes bundled with six of our most popular add-on packs. There’s even a Festive mash-up included just in time for the holidays. We’ll be adding more content packs to Wii U Edition in the near future (Wa-hoo!), and updating the core game with free updates, just like our other platforms. As a quick reminder: all DLC packs are optional. You can have significant amounts of fun playing Minecraft without spending extra cash. Minecraft: Wii U Edition will also feature off-TV play, so you can continue...

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Minecraft snapshot 15w49a

Two weeks already since we released our previous snapshot? About time to make another one. We are so busy with fixing bugs in the game that we barely find time to finish anything els… [add description here] Notable changes: Fixed a lot of bugs (again) Improved doors Pathfinding is now approximately 1.97% smarter Balancing tweaks … Issues solved in this snapshot: [Issue MC-729] - Zombies only fight back against players [Issue MC-1973] - Items placed into a beacon are lost upon reloading a world [Issue MC-3626] - Signs, Sugar Cane, Vines, Two-block Plants and Cobwebs cause glitchy mob behavior [Issue MC-7519] - Clearing Nausea Potion Effect will stop it but show portal tint [Issue MC-8017] - False Cobweb Behavior [Issue MC-9074]...

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Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 3 now available

Hello! You know about Minecraft: Story Mode by now, right? Telltale Games’ narrative-driven video game set in the world of Minecraft? It’s fun for all the family, including pets (especially if they’re pigs). Sorry, I’m confusing the core message of this post. Let’s get back on track. The third episode of Minecraft: Story Mode - The Last Place You Look is rolling out on all platforms today! To celebrate, the good folks at Telltale have created a new trailer to show off some choice moments from this slice of the adventure. As you can see from the footage, stuff is getting real! Have fun playing Episode 3, everyone! And have a great week. Owen - @bopogamel Continue reading...

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Biome Settlers Pack 1 now available for download

Hey! In case yesterday’s update wasn’t enough, we have even more news for players of Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Minecraft: Windows 10 Beta Edition. Over the past few weeks we’ve been working on a new type of skin pack, designed from the ground-up to fit with the world of Minecraft. Biome Settlers Pack 1 is the first in a series of packs to explore the idea. It’s now available to download right now! When designing these skins, we took inspiration from the different ways you play Minecraft, as well as the resources and mobs that exist in each biome. This pack includes skins for Forest, Tundra, and Desert settlers. It’s available to download now for $1.99/£1.49 or equivalent and contains 24 new looks. As usual, a few of the skins...

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Pocket and Windows 10 get redstone! Bunnies! Doors!

Hello! I bring exciting news to Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta players. Version 0.13.0 is here! This is a huge update which includes a little thing called REDSTONE. I don’t like using unnecessary capitals but REDSTONE is a big deal, so it deserves to be shouted about. Redstone is a mysterious power in Minecraft that works a bit like electricity in the real world. Though this is the first iteration of redstone for Pocket and Windows 10 Editions, it still gives you the chance to create intricate devices including powered rollercoasters and automated doors. As we continue to update the game with more redstone components you’ll get to create even more complicated things. It’s an exciting time for...

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Minecraft snapshot 15w47a

Snapshot. Time. Again. Yay! Our bug tracker is now the home page in our browsers and we are going to keep it that way until Minecraft 1.9 is ready for release. We want to say “thank you” to everyone who’s reporting bugs and voting on them. And of course we also want to thank our moderators helping us to focus on the important issues, they are doing an awesome job to keep the bugs under control. Due to some complaints that we were too focused on fixing bugs and not adding more features for 1.9, this weeks snapshot will focus on solving issues instead. Notable changes: _Fixed a lot of bugs_ Solved a lot of issues Better support for transparency in skins Reverted a change to redstone blocks that caused some issues with redstone...

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Minecraft meets Hour of Code

Hello! We’re proud to announce that Minecraft is part of this year’s Hour of Code campaign. Hour of Code is focused on introducing basic programming skills in a simple, accessible way. It feels like a great fit for Minecraft, so we’ve been working with Microsoft to create a themed set of challenges. The Minecraft Hour of Code takes about 3,600 seconds to complete and will introduce you to programming logic like Repeat Loops and If Statements. If you don’t know what those things are, play through this thing and find out! The tutorial is designed for ages over six and up, and you get to play as either Steve or Alex. It’s completely free, and doesn’t require you to download or install anything. Check it out here: www.code.org/mc...

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Realms map round-up

Hello again Minecrafters! Whether you’re looking for a spawn area for a new survival map, an adventure to go on with your friends, or a quick mini-game, we’ve got you covered. With a few clicks, these new maps pop right into your Realm. Here’s what we’ve added recently: CastleRise: Brothers’ Feud by Kanoc In CastleRise, your goal is simple: each team has a castle, and while protecting your prince, you must attack the enemy’s. There’s a build phase where you can buy and place structures such as walls, siege factories, and moats. When the build phase is over, it’s time to attack! I’ve been playing this map non-stop recently, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite mini-games. Skylight by Springstof Skylight is a fun survival...

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Minecraft snapshot 15w46a

Here it is, this weeks snapshot, going by the fancy name “15w46a” is now available. There are still a lot of bug open on our bugtracker that need to be taken care of before we can release version 1.9 of Minecraft, but with each of these snapshots we are getting a little bit closer to that point. Now is also a good time to look into the changes between 1.8 and 1.9 if you are creating resource packs or custom maps with command blocks. Notable changes: Fixed a lot of bugs Updated version number Less strict about entities behavior, but more strict about the colors they use Made up at least one notable change to make the list look longer Bugs fixed in this snapshot: [Bug MC-128] - 3rd person view reverts to 1st person view if head...

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