Minecraft Earth

Minecraft Earth is an augmented reality sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. A spin-off of the video game Minecraft, it was first announced in May 2019, and is available on Android and iOS. The game is free-to-play, and was first released in early access on 17 October 2019. The game received its final update in January 2021 and will shut down on June 30, 2021.[2][3][4][5]

Minecraft Earth
Developer(s)Mojang Studios
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Composer(s)Shauny Jang[1]
SeriesMinecraft
Platform(s)Android, iOS
Release
  • 17 October 2019
  • (early access)
Genre(s)Augmented reality, sandbox
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Similar to Minecraft, Minecraft Earth is centered around building structures, gathering resources, crafting, and exploration. The game utilizes the same Bedrock game engine as other versions of Minecraft. In "build mode", players can build augmented reality structures on "Buildplates" in collaboration with other players, then explore them in full size with "play mode". In both Build mode and Play mode, the buildplates are overlayed onto the real world using augmented reality (AR) and the built-in phone camera. Players can gather resources by collecting "tappables" in the in-game map and by completing "adventures" which may be a puzzle, a specific task, or a virtual location with hostile entities to defeat. Minecraft Earth considers physical objects such as trees and lakes so there are fewer incidents and interferences with the AR simulation.[6]

Minecraft Earth includes many different kinds of in-game entities called "mobs" that are exclusive variations of the mobs in Minecraft. The game has two in-game currencies: "rubies" and "minecoins". Rubies can be earned through gameplay or purchased with real money, and can be used to purchase items that affect gameplay such as "build plates".[7] Minecoins, which are present in all Bedrock editions of Minecraft, can only be purchased with real money and are used to purchase cosmetic items, such as texture packs and character skins.

Development

Minecraft Earth utilizes information from OpenStreetMap for map information and is built on Microsoft Azure for its augmented reality features.[8] The game is free-to-play, and supports Android and iOS smartphones.[9][10]

During Microsoft Build 2015, Microsoft's HoloLens team unveiled an augmented reality version of Minecraft.[11] On 8 May 2019, a teaser trailer was released which showed a Muddy Pig.[12] Minecraft Earth was announced during Minecraft's 10th anniversary in May 2019.[13] Microsoft created a website for players to signup for the closed beta that was released during mid-2019, and Microsoft intended to release the game in a gradual rollout.[8] Multiplayer gameplay was showcased at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2019.[14]

Release

A closed beta was first released for iOS on 16 July 2019 in Seattle and London,[15] then in Stockholm, Tokyo, and Mexico City over the next two days.[16] Android users in these cities gained access to the closed beta on 30 August 2019.[17]

Minecraft Earth was first released in early access in Iceland and New Zealand on 17 October 2019,[18] and slowly rolled out in other countries in the following weeks, such as the United States in November.[19] It was made available globally on 11 December 2019 (it is not available in China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, and UAE).[20][7]

On 5 January 2021, developer Mojang Studios announced that they were releasing the final build of Minecraft Earth, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor. Mojang added that they would be ending support for Minecraft Earth on 30 June 2021.[2][5]

Reception

Newshub described the game as "hugely ambitious".[21] Research firm Sensor Tower reported that it was downloaded 1.4 million times in its first week of release, with 1.2 million from the United States.[22]

Awards

The game was nominated for "Best VR/AR Game" at the Game Critics Awards,[23] and won the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game at the New York Game Awards.[24] Time Magazine listed Minecraft Earth as one of the Best 100 Inventions of 2019.[25]

References
  1. Wilborgh, Thomas. "The Sound of Scary". Minecraft.net. Mojang Studios. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. Kumparak, Greg (5 January 2020). "Minecraft Earth will shut down in June". Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. Walker, Ian (6 January 2021). "Minecraft Ends this Summer".
  4. Team, M. G. H. (6 January 2021). "Mojang Announces To Shut Down Minecraft Earth Permanently". Mobile Gaming Hub. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  5. Staff, Minecraft (5 January 2020). "Minecraft Earth coming to an end". Minecraft Official Website.
  6. "Minecraft Earth busts out of the box as a Pokemon Go-inspired mobile AR game". PCWorld. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. "Minecraft Earth FAQs". Home. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  8. "'Minecraft Earth' makes the world your augmented reality playground". Engadget. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  9. Campbell, Colin (17 May 2019). "Minecraft Earth is Microsoft's wild shot at the next Pokemon Go-style AR blockbuster". Polygon. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. Warren, Tom (17 May 2019). "Minecraft Earth goes a step beyond Pokemon Go to cover the world in blocks". The Verge. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  11. Robertson, Adi (17 June 2015). "HoloLens games are too good for HoloLens". The Verge. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  12. "Is a new Minecraft AR game coming?". BBC. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  13. "Minecraft: AR game Minecraft Earth and MINECON announced on 10th birthday". BBC. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. Warren, Tom (3 June 2019). "Microsoft demos Minecraft Earth at Apple's WWDC event". The Verge. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  15. Kumparak, Greg. "Minecraft Earth starts rolling out in beta in Seattle and London". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  16. Porter, Jon (30 August 2019). "Minecraft Earth Android beta launches in five cities". The Verge. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  17. Lawler, Richard (30 August 2019). "'Minecraft Earth' beta is available on Android -- in five cities". Engadget. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  18. Diaz, Justin (17 October 2019). "Minecraft Earth Early Access Begins Today With Iceland & New Zealand". Android Headlines. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  19. Killman, Brandon (13 November 2019). "Minecraft Earth is available in the US for fans hoping to play the AR game early". CNN. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  20. "Minecraft Earth on Twitter: We've saved up all our wool to roll out the red carpet. Over the next 24 hours, Minecraft Earth early access will become available in countries all across the world! Navigate over to your app store of choice to start crafting in real life". Twitter. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  21. Rutledge, Daniel (29 September 2019). "Minecraft Earth: Believe the hype, this is the next big thing". Newshub. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  22. "Minecraft Earth Builds Up 1.4 Million Downloads After U.S. Rollout". Sensor Tower. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  23. Nunneley, Stephany (27 June 2019). "E3 2019 Game Critics Awards – Final Fantasy 7 Remake wins Best of Show". VG247. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  24. Meitzler, Ryan (22 January 2020). "The New York Video Game Awards 2020 Winners Revealed; The Outer Worlds Takes Game of the Year". DualShockers. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  25. "Best Inventions 2019 - 100 innovations making the world better, smarter and even a little more fun". Times Magazine. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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