Minecraft Earth

Last updated

Minecraft Earth
Minecraft Earth.png
Developer(s) Mojang Studios
Blackbird Interactive
Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios
Director(s)
  • Torfi Frans Olafsson
  • Craig Leigh [1]
Composer(s) Shauny Jang [2]
Series Minecraft
Platform(s)
Release
  • 17 October 2019;4 years ago (17 October 2019)
  • (early access)
Genre(s)
Mode(s)

Minecraft Earth was an augmented reality and geolocation-based sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and Blackbird interactive and published by Xbox Game Studios. A spin-off of the video game Minecraft , it was first announced in May 2019, and was available on Android and iOS. The game was free-to-play, and was first released in early access on 17 October 2019. The game received its final update in January 2021 and officially shut down on 30 June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

As well as being an augmented reality game, Minecraft Earth was also a location-based game due to its use of a GPS-tracked world map, similar to Pokémon Go .

Gameplay

Similar to Minecraft, Minecraft Earth was centered around building structures, gathering resources, crafting, and exploration. The game utilized the same Bedrock game engine as other versions of Minecraft. In "build mode", players could 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 were overlaid onto the real world using augmented reality (AR) and the built-in phone camera. Players could 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. [7]

Minecraft Earth included many different kinds of in-game entities called "mobs" that are exclusive variations of the mobs in Minecraft. The game had two in-game currencies: "rubies" and "minecoins". Rubies could be earned through gameplay or purchased with real money and could be used to purchase items that affect gameplay such as "build plates". [8] Minecoins, which are present in all Bedrock editions of Minecraft, could only be purchased with real money and are used to purchase cosmetic items, such as texture packs and character skins.

Development

Minecraft Earth utilized information from OpenStreetMap for map information and was built on Microsoft Azure for its augmented reality features. [9] The game was free-to-play, and supported Android and iOS smartphones. [10] [11]

During Microsoft Build 2015, Microsoft's HoloLens team unveiled an augmented reality version of Minecraft. [12] On 8 May 2019, a teaser trailer was released which showed a Muddy Pig. [13] Minecraft Earth was announced during Minecraft's 10th anniversary in May 2019. [14] 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. [9] Multiplayer gameplay was showcased at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2019. [15]

Release

A closed beta was first released for iOS on 16 July 2019 in Seattle and London, [16] then in Stockholm, Tokyo, and Mexico City over the next two days. [17] Android users in these cities gained access to the closed beta on 30 August 2019. [18]

Minecraft Earth was first released in early access in Iceland and New Zealand on 17 October 2019, [19] and slowly rolled out in other countries in the following weeks, such as the United States in November. [20] It was made available globally on 11 December 2019 (it was not available in China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, and UAE). [21] [8]

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. [3] [6]

Reception

Newshub described the game as "hugely ambitious". [22] 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. [23]

Awards

The game was nominated for "Best VR/AR Game" at the Game Critics Awards, [24] and won the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best AR/VR Game at the New York Game Awards. [25] Time Magazine listed Minecraft Earth as one of the Best 100 Inventions of 2019. [26]

Legacy

One of the game's songs, "Earth", was featured as downloadable content in Nintendo's 2018 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , in the form of a remix composed by Mitsuhiro Kitadani. This new arrangement was added to the game on 13 October 2020, as part of Challenger Pack 7 within Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Fighters Pass Vol. 2 season pass.

Many of the game's previously exclusive mobs were featured as pets in the Fauna Faire Adventure Pass for Minecraft Dungeons on 19 October 2022. These include: Dairy Cow, Wooly Cow, Cluckshroom, and Vested Rabbit.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox Game Studios</span> American video game publisher

Xbox Game Studios is an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, for the development and publishing of video games for Microsoft Windows. It has since expanded to include games and other interactive entertainment for the namesake Xbox platforms, other desktop operating systems, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms, web-based portals, and other game consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile game</span> Video game played on a mobile device

A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone, tablet, PDA to handheld game console, portable media player or graphing calculator, with and without network availability. The earliest known game on a mobile phone was a Tetris variant on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device from 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unity (game engine)</span> Cross-platform video game and simulation engine

Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies, first announced and released in June 2005 at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as a Mac OS X game engine. The engine has since been gradually extended to support a variety of desktop, mobile, console, augmented reality, and virtual reality platforms. It is particularly popular for iOS and Android mobile game development, is considered easy to use for beginner developers, and is popular for indie game development.

Minecraft is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java programming language, it was developed over the span of two years, with many public test builds being released from May 2009 until its full release on 18 November 2011. After the game's full release, Persson gave Jens "Jeb" Bergensten control over the game's development. In the years since its release, it has been ported to several platforms, including smartphones and various video game consoles, primarily by 4J Studios. Minecraft has become the best-selling video game in history, with over 300 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Persson</span> Swedish video game programmer (born 1979)

Markus Alexej Persson, also known as "Notch", is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is the creator of the video game Minecraft, which since its release has become the best-selling video game in history. He founded the video game development company Mojang Studios in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojang Studios</span> Swedish video game developer

Mojang Studios is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm. The studio is best known for developing the sandbox and survival game Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time.

Music of <i>Minecraft</i> Music of the video game Minecraft

The music of the 2009 video game Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios, primarily consists of two soundtrack albums by German musician Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C418. American composer Lena Raine has also contributed music for four major updates to the game since 2020, alongside Aaron Cherof and Kumi Tanioka who worked on the most recent version in 2024. Music included in downloadable content (DLC) for legacy console versions of the game was handled by British musician Gareth Coker.

Minecon is an annual interactive livestream and fan convention about the video game Minecraft, hosted by Mojang. The first gathering in 2010 was known as MinecraftCon. The event then went by the Minecon name from 2011 to 2019. The Minecon 2011 convention was held in Las Vegas and celebrated the launch of the game with Minecraft-related discussion panels and gaming areas. The most recent in-person convention, Minecon 2016, held in Anaheim, had 12,000 attendees. An attempt at returning to in-person events was prevented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niantic, Inc.</span> Mobile app and video game development company

Niantic, Inc. is an American software development company based in San Francisco. Niantic is best known for developing the augmented reality mobile games Ingress and Pokémon Go. The company was formed as Niantic Labs in 2010 as an internal startup within Google. The company became an independent entity in October 2015 when Google restructured under Alphabet Inc. Niantic has additional offices in Bellevue, Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Seattle, Lawrence, Tokyo, London, Hamburg, and Zurich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Mixed Reality</span> Mixed reality platform

Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) is a discontinued platform by Microsoft which provides augmented reality and virtual reality experiences with compatible head-mounted displays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft HoloLens</span> Mixed reality smartglasses

Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking technology used in HoloLens can trace its lineage to the Microsoft Kinect, an accessory for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Xbox One game consoles that was introduced in 2010.

Windows 10 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. Microsoft described Windows 10 as an "operating system as a service" that would receive ongoing updates to its features and functionality, augmented with the ability for enterprise environments to receive non-critical updates at a slower pace or use long-term support milestones that will only receive critical updates, such as security patches, over their five-year lifespan of mainstream support. It was released in July 2015.

A Minecraft mod is a mod that changes aspects of the sandbox game Minecraft. Minecraft mods can add additional content to the game, make tweaks to specific features, and optimize performance. Thousands of mods for the game have been created, with some mods even generating an income for their authors. While Mojang Studios does not provide an API for modding, community tools exist to help developers create and distribute mods. The popularity of Minecraft mods has been credited for helping Minecraft become one of the best-selling video games of all time.

<i>Harry Potter: Wizards Unite</i> Defunct location-based augmented reality mobile game

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was an augmented reality (AR) mobile game developed by Niantic and WB Games San Francisco, and published by Niantic, under license from Portkey Games. The game is based on the Harry Potter series and part of the Wizarding World media franchise, created by J. K. Rowling. Wizards Unite begins as the player creates their avatar and starts their journey at the player's real world location. The player character engages with the world by casting spells, discovering artefacts and facing known characters and beasts of the Wizarding World universe.

<i>Minecraft Dungeons</i> 2020 video game

Minecraft Dungeons is a 2020 dungeon crawler video game developed by Mojang Studios and Double Eleven and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is a spin-off of the sandbox video game Minecraft and was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2020. It was also adapted into an arcade video game by Raw Thrills. The arcade version released in May 2021. The game would later cease development on September 28, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HoloLens 2</span> 2019 mixed reality smartglasses

Microsoft HoloLens 2 is a mixed reality head-mounted display developed and manufactured by Microsoft. It is the successor to the original Microsoft HoloLens. The first variant of the device, The HoloLens 2 enterprise edition, debuted on February 24, 2019. This was followed by a developer edition that was announced on May 2, 2019. The HoloLens 2 was subsequently released in limited numbers on November 7, 2019.

A Minecraft server is a player-owned or business-owned multiplayer game server for the 2011 Mojang Studios video game Minecraft. In this context, the term "server" often colloquially refers to a network of connected servers, rather than a single machine. Players can start their own server either by setting one up on a computer using software provided by Mojang, or by using a hosting provider so they can have their server run on dedicated machines with guaranteed uptime. The largest server is widely accepted to be the minigame server Hypixel.

Minecraft is a media franchise developed from and centered around the video game of the same name. Primarily developed by Mojang Studios, the franchise consists of five video games, along with various books, merchandise, events, and an upcoming theatrical film. Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios in 2014, alongside the Minecraft franchise and its editions.

<i>Pikmin Bloom</i> 2021 mobile game

Pikmin Bloom is a 2021 augmented reality mobile game in the Pikmin series, developed and published by Niantic. Like Pokémon Go, it rewards players for spending time outside. The player's real-world movements are rewarded with items for Pikmin creatures. Its worldwide rollout began in late October 2021.

References

  1. Wilbot, Carrie (10 October 2019). "Minecraft Earth needed "two-and-a-half miracles" to get tech working". pcgamesn.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  2. Wilborgh, Thomas (9 April 2020). "The Sound of Scary". Minecraft.net . Mojang Studios. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 Kumparak, Greg (5 January 2021). "Minecraft Earth will shut down in June". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. Walker, Ian (6 January 2021). "Minecraft Ends this Summer". Kotaku . Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  5. "Mojang Announces To Shut Down Minecraft Earth Permanently". Mobile Gaming Hub. 6 January 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 Staff, Minecraft (5 January 2021). "Minecraft Earth coming to an end". Minecraft.net. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021.
  7. Simon, Michael (17 May 2019). "Minecraft Earth busts out of the box as a Pokémon Go-inspired mobile AR game". PCWorld . Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Minecraft Earth FAQs". Minecraft.net. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  9. 1 2 Hardawar, Devindra (17 May 2019). "'Minecraft Earth' makes the world your augmented reality playground". Engadget . Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. Campbell, Colin (17 May 2019). "Minecraft Earth is Microsoft's wild shot at the next Pokémon Go-style AR blockbuster". Polygon . Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  11. Warren, Tom (17 May 2019). "Minecraft Earth goes a step beyond Pokémon Go to cover the world in blocks". The Verge . Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  12. Robertson, Adi (17 June 2015). "HoloLens games are too good for HoloLens". The Verge . Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  13. "Is a new Minecraft AR game coming?". BBC . 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  14. "Minecraft: AR game Minecraft Earth and MINECON announced on 10th birthday". BBC . 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  15. Warren, Tom (3 June 2019). "Microsoft demos Minecraft Earth at Apple's WWDC event". The Verge . Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  16. Kumparak, Greg (16 July 2019). "Minecraft Earth starts rolling out in beta in Seattle and London". TechCrunch . Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  17. Porter, Jon (30 August 2019). "Minecraft Earth Android beta launches in five cities". The Verge . Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  18. Lawler, Richard (30 August 2019). "'Minecraft Earth' beta is available on Android -- in five cities". Engadget . Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  19. Diaz, Justin (17 October 2019). "Minecraft Earth Early Access Begins Today With Iceland & New Zealand". Android Headlines. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  20. Killman, Brandon (13 November 2019). "Minecraft Earth is available in the US for fans hoping to play the AR game early". CNN . Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  21. @minecraftearth (11 December 2019). "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" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 July 2020 via Twitter.
  22. Rutledge, Daniel (29 September 2019). "Minecraft Earth: Believe the hype, this is the next big thing". Newshub . Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  23. "Minecraft Earth Builds Up 1.4 Million Downloads After U.S. Rollout". Sensor Tower. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  24. Nunneley, Stephany (27 June 2019). "E3 2019 Game Critics Awards – Final Fantasy 7 Remake wins Best of Show". VG247 . Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  25. Meitzler, Ryan (22 January 2020). "The New York Video Game Awards 2020 Winners Revealed; The Outer Worlds Takes Game of the Year". DualShockers. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  26. "Best Inventions 2019 - 100 innovations making the world better, smarter and even a little more fun". Time . 23 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2020.