WebProNews

Tag: Minecraft

  • Companies Race to Fix Critical Zero-Day Vulnerability

    Companies Race to Fix Critical Zero-Day Vulnerability

    Companies around the world are racing to patch a critical zero-day vulnerability that is among the worst ever found.

    Cyber security experts and government officials began warning Friday of a critical bug in “Log4j,” a Java-based logging framework used in Apache. As news of the vulnerability became known, the list of impacted companies grew to include some of the biggest in the world.

    Palo Alto Networks reported that iCloud, Twitter, Amazon, Baidu and Minecraft were impacted, to name just a few. Even worse, the vulnerability is actively being exploited and attacked, putting many companies at risk.

    The director of the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a statement outlining the seriousness of the vulnerability.

    “We are taking urgent action to drive mitigation of this vulnerability and detect any associated threat activity. We have added this vulnerability to our catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, which compels federal civilian agencies — and signals to non-federal partners — to urgently patch or remediate this vulnerability. We are proactively reaching out to entities whose networks may be vulnerable and are leveraging our scanning and intrusion detection tools to help government and industry partners identify exposure to or exploitation of the vulnerability. 

    To be clear, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. We will only minimize potential impacts through collaborative efforts between government and the private sector. We urge all organizations to join us in this essential effort and take action.” 

    Cybersecurity experts are echoing CISA’s assessment of the danger, calling the vulnerability a major issue for the tech and cybersecurity community.

    Dr. Richard Ford, CTO of cybersecurity research firm Praetorian, told WebProNews the Log4j is even worse than other, widely reported vulnerabilities.

    “Praetorian researchers weaponized the vulnerability within hours and have a fully working exploit that we can use in the field,” said Dr. Richard Ford. “As background, Praetorian is an Austin-based cybersecurity solutions company that helps solve complex cybersecurity problems across critical enterprise assets and product portfolios. Their combination of software and security expertise puts them at the forefront of vulnerabilities such as this. Earlier this year, Praetorian was at the forefront of another critical vulnerability, proxylogon. The company says, as critical as proxylogon was to resolve, it had a much smaller potential impact than Log4j.

    “The company’s engineers and researchers have been working since last night in a war room to scan its customers and are finding vulnerabilities in the field. Worse yet, we’re also inadvertently discovering the vulnerability in 3rd parties who are on adjacent or integrated systems. Naturally, we are following responsible disclosure policies so cannot call out these systems by name, but it is one of the largest exposures we have seen at Internet scale. All vulnerabilities are typically scored by how dangerous they are: this vulnerability has practically the highest score possible, and it seems likely that even some professionals are unaware of its potential impact. The situation is rapidly evolving, and we are learning a great deal about the scope and impact of this vulnerability as we quickly work with customers to help mitigate the risk in the short term while they work on a long term solution, which will require patching all instances of the vulnerable code – a process which could take months.”

    Due to Log4J’s widespread use, experts believe companies will continue to come under attack in the coming days as mitigation efforts are being taken.

    “ This vulnerability feels similar to ShellShock, first identified in 2014, and still observed by GreyNoise,” Andrew Morris, Founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm GreyNoise told WebProNews. “Due to ease of exploitation and prevalence of Log4J, GreyNoise researchers believe that this activity will continue to increase over the next few days.”

  • Satya Nadella: Microsoft Teams Becoming ‘Critical Infrastructure’

    Satya Nadella: Microsoft Teams Becoming ‘Critical Infrastructure’

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is touting the company’s software in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

    In an interview with CNBC, Nadella talked about the responsibility he felt toward keeping the company’s employees safe, and the wider role the company plays as “digital first responders.”

    “I think at this point, the most important thing for us as a company, is to ensure the safety of our own employees,” said Nadella. “That’s, I think, the place where I start from. We have done everything to stay grounded in the public health guidance….

    “This pandemic has no borders, and its cure is not going to have any borders. So we have to come together as a global community, and we have to do our part. I sort of describe our role as the ‘digital first responders’ to all the first responders. So, even if you take what’s happening with Microsoft Teams, it’s become critical infrastructure for people who are doing remote work. We’re seeing 60X increase in Teams’ usage, 900 million minutes a day. So, therefore, scaling—I’m very thankful to all the Microsoft employees who are really building all the critical infrastructure and scaling it.

    “Similarly, we’re working with CDC in their pre-screening bot. Because one of the other challenges we face right now, is how do we take the load off of the healthcare system. So this pre-screening bot with CDC protocol is being used, even by Providence and others….

    “The other thing that’s also happening is education. We have lots of students now with remote learning. And that’s another place where Microsoft is stepping up…how does one conduct remote learning? And one of the things we’re doing even today is taking the lessons we’ve always had in Minecraft Education and making them just part of the base game. Because when kids are at home, and parents are also getting involved in helping them stay with their education lesson plans, I think this can be a step forward.

    “So we’re doing everything we can to help us work through this crisis, but it’s going to take all of us.”

  • RSF Creates ‘The Uncensored Library’ In Minecraft

    RSF Creates ‘The Uncensored Library’ In Minecraft

    Minecraft is already one of the most successful video games in the world, but now it’s also serving to help preserve information in its uncensored form.

    Minecraft is a nearly infinite, open-world game that lets users create virtually anything they can image. Rather than creating a building or scene from a movie or TV show, NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has created a virtual library to house works that were originally censored in their countries of origin.

    “Minecraft is a favourite – one of the world’s most successful computer games, with more than 145 million active players every month,” reads the statement. “Here communities can build entire worlds out of blocks, experience the freedom of an open world. Its creative mode is often described as ‘digital Lego’. In these countries, where websites, blogs and free press in general are strictly limited, Minecraft is still accessible by everyone.

    “Reporters Without Borders (RSF) used this backdoor to build ‘The Uncensored Library’: A library that is now accessible on an open server for Minecraft players around the globe. The library is filled with books, containing articles that were censored in their country of origin. These articles are now available again within Minecraft hidden from government surveillance technology inside a computer game. The books can be read by everyone on the server, but their content cannot be changed. The library is growing, with more and more books being added to overcome censorship.”

    RSF’s ingenious use of Minecraft is a perfect example of the innovative ways technology—including video games—can be used to address serious issues. According to the RSF, “the Uncensored Library is accessible through Minecraft with the server address: visit.uncensoredlibrary.com.”

  • Microsoft Announces Minecraft Coding Tutorial

    Microsoft Announces Minecraft Coding Tutorial

    Microsoft has teamed up with Mojang AB and Code.org to unveil a new Minecraft coding tutorial for students and educators. It was created for the Hour of Code campaign that encourages global participation in computer science – part of Computer Science Week, which runs December 7 – 13.

    You don’t have to wait for that week to check out the tutorial, however. It’s available today at code.org/mc.

    The tutorial provides an introduction to basic coding within the Minecraft environment. It was created by Minecraft game designers with Code.org. It features Steve and Alex from Minecraft and includes Minecraft-inspired challenges, which Microsoft says will be familiar to its over 100 million players. It’s designed for ages 6 and up.

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says, “A core part of our mission to empower every person on the planet is equipping youth with computational thinking and problem-solving skills to succeed in an increasingly digital world. With ‘Minecraft’ and Code.org, we aim to spark creativity in the next generation of innovators in a way that is natural, collaborative and fun.”

    Code.org CEO and co-founder Hadi Partovi added, “‘Minecraft’ is a special game that girls and boys alike often can’t be pried away from. Microsoft continues to be Code.org’s most generous donor and one of the largest supporters of the worldwide movement to give every student the opportunity to learn computer science. This year’s ‘Minecraft’ tutorial will empower millions of learners around the world to explore how a game they love actually works and will inspire them to impact the world by creating their own technology or apps.”

    According to to the announcement, over 100 million students across 180 countries and 40 languages have participated in the Hour of Code, and the upcoming event will only be the third one.

    Image via Code.org

  • Conan Checks In With Minecraft Inventor About Microsoft Acquisition

    The big news on Monday was that Microsoft is buying Mojang, the company behind the hugely popular Minecraft, for $2.5 billion.

    Naturally, the subject came up on Conan, who checked in with the inventor of the game to see how he’s celebrating:

    The actual founders are leaving the company, but Mojang says most of the team will probably stay on board, at least for the time being. It’s worth noting that Microsoft recently announced a massive round of layoffs including many people it brought over from the acquisition of Nokia assets.

    Image via YouTube

  • Minecraft Downloads to Continue on PC, PlayStation

    Yesterday Microsoft officially announced that it is acquiring Mojang, the development studio behind the game Minecraft. Microsoft will reportedly pay $2.5 billion for the Swedish game studio. Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson also announced that he will be leaving Mojang and will not go on to work for Microsoft.

    Minecraft is sandbox style game that features simplistic graphics and gameplay. Players are free to play together as they please, often building using individual cubes; crafting weaponry and survival gear; and battling fantasy creatures. The game has become incredibly popular with young people and has consistently been a top-selling game across platforms including PC, consoles, and mobile devices.

    Though Microsoft regularly purchases smaller companies, this particular acquisition has significance for the current console war between Microsoft and Sony. Sales of Microsoft’s Xbox One console are now lagging behind those of Sony’s PlayStation 4, leading Microsoft to un-bundle its Kinect peripheral to lower the price its new console. Microsoft is also scrambling to provide the Xbox One with exclusive software, and recently announced a deal with publisher Square Enix to make the next Tomb Raider game exclusive for a time on the One. Seen in this context, it is easy to see how the Minecraft acquisition could be worrisome for PlayStation, PC, or even iOS gamers.

    Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, tried to soothe gamers’ fears this week, stating that Microsoft will “continue to make Minecraft available across platforms – including iOS, Android, and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC.” From the official announcement:

    At Microsoft, we believe in the power of content to unite people. Minecraft adds diversity to our game portfolio and helps us reach new gamers across multiple platforms. Gaming is the top activity across devices and we see great potential to continue to grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise. That is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms – including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC.

    Mojang made a similar statement, saying that “there’s no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions of Minecraft to stop.”

    While this may be true, carefully selected language such as “continue to make Minecraft available” and “there’s no reason” do leave the door open for Microsoft to stop supporting or marketing the game on platforms other than its own. Whether Microsoft will choose to do that is still unclear, but the company is now in charge of the greater Minecraft community and one of the biggest video games of all time.

  • Microsoft Announces It’s Buying Minecraft For $2.5 Billion

    Rumors circulated throughout the media last week that Microsoft was preparing to acquire Mojang, the makers of the massively popular game Minecraft. On Monday, Microsoft officially announced that it is doing so.

    The company says it has reached an agreement to acquire the Stockholm-based game developer for $2.5 billion, and that the Mojang team will join Microsoft Studios, which is also behind Halo, Forza, Fable, and others.

    Microsoft says its investment in the cloud and mobile technologies will enable Minecraft players to benefit from “richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools, and more opportunities to connect” across the community.

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “Gaming is a top activity spanning devices, from PCs and consoles to tablets and mobile, with billions of hours spent each year. Minecraft is more than a great game franchise – it is an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities for that community and for Microsoft.”

    “The ‘Minecraft’ players have taken the game and turned it into something that surpassed all of our expectations. The acquisition by Microsoft brings a new chapter to the incredible story of ‘Minecraft,’” added Mojang CEO Carl Manneh. “As the founders move on to start new projects, we believe the high level of creativity from the community will continue the game’s success far into the future.”

    Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, said, “‘Minecraft’ is one of the most popular franchises of all time. We are going to maintain ‘Minecraft’ and its community in all the ways people love today, with a commitment to nurture and grow it long into the future.”

    Spencer talks more about the deal here.

    Microsoft expects the acquisition to be “break-even” in its Fiscal Year 2015 on a GAAP basis, and notes that it is subject to customer closing conditions and regulatory approval. The company expects the deal to close later this year, and says more details will be available upon closing.

    Image via YouTube

  • Minecraft Coming to PS4, Retail For PS3

    Minecraft Coming to PS4, Retail For PS3

    Ever since its release in 2009, Minecraft has grown to become one of the biggest gaming phenomenons in history. The popular multiplayer sandbox game regularly tops sales charts for every platform it appears on, including mobile devices, where Minecraft Pocket Edition is a best-selling title despite it costing $7.

    Most recently Minecraft came to the PlayStation 3, shooting up sales charts once again. Until now Minecraft for PS3 had been available only through Sony’s PlayStation Store ad a digital download. That will all change next month.

    Sony and Minecraft development studio Mojang today announced that Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition will be coming to retail stores in the U.S. and Europe. The game will be available on a Blu-ray disc starting May 14 in Europe and on May 16 in North America.

    The retail version of Minecraft for PS3 will have all of the same features of the downloadable version, including split-screen multiplayer. The game will come with all the updates for the title up to update 14. This means that items such as potatoes, Emeralds, and more will be available right out of the box, which will look like this:

    Minecraft PS3 box art

    All of these features and more are previewed in a new video released by Sony today highlighting the PlaySation 3 version of Minecraft:

    In addition to the PS3 retail release of Minecraft, Sony today also teased that the game is still being developed for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. Those ports are being developed by 4J Studios, the Scottish development studio that has handled the Minecraft ports for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

  • Minecraft Gets Uncharted, Killzone Skins On PS3

    Minecraft on consoles is a great experience, but it does lose a bit in the transition. Case in point – the numerous mods available on the PC version of the game just aren’t possible on consoles. To make up for that, Microsoft began releasing character skins based on their most popular franchises for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft. Now Sony is doing the same for the PS3 version.

    Mojang announced this morning that the PS3 version of Minecraft will soon get two new character skin packs. The first skin pack features characters from PlayStation’s recent past, including characters from Heavy Rain, Uncharted, Killzone and Sly Cooper. The other pack – Battle and Beasts – is a little more generic and features “koalas, a Cleopatra look-a-like, various cavemen, and an octopus.”

    Alongside the character skin packs, Minecraft for PS3 will also be getting two new texture packs – City and Plastic:

    For those of you who aren’t content with the classic Minecraft styling, two new texture packs are also launching. The City Texture pack is perfect for the modernist Minecrafter; it’ll give your creations a more clean, clinical look. The Plastic Texture pack makes things look a lot more, erm, plasticy.

    Mojang notes that Minecraft for PS3 also received a pretty hefty update last week. The update added a number of new features to the game, including emeralds, pumpkin pie, nether quartz, new zombie mobs, new terrains and a lot more. If you want to see all the new features, check out this post on the Minecraft forums.

    As for the PS4 and PS Vita versions of Minecraft, Mojang says that they still don’t have a date for either version. They also don’t know if the game will support Cross Buy when it launches. If not, those who purchased the PS3 version of Minecraft will have to buy it again when it launches on the PS4. Finally, they confirmed that the PS4 version won’t feature keyboard and mouse support, but claim that it plays just fine on the DualShock 4.

    Image via PlayStation Blog

  • Notch Cancels Minecraft For Oculus Rift, Says Facebook ‘Creeps’ Him Out

    The reaction from the Internet over Facebook buying Oculus VR has been all over the place. Some are saying it’s great for the Oculus VR guys as it now gives them the resources to build the platform they’ve always wanted. Others aren’t so happy and claim they’ve lost their indie cred by selling out to Facebook. Despite these varying reactions, it’s not like the Facebook deal led to any canceled games, right?

    Notch unceremoniously announced on Twitter last night that Mojang was in talks with Oculus VR to bring Minecraft to the Oculus Rift. He canceled those talks upon hearing that Facebook bought the company. Why? It’s simple – Facebook “creeps” him out.

    Okay, maybe it’s not as simple as that, but that’s all we had to go on until Notch wrote a lengthy blog post on the potential of virtual reality and his feelings on Facebook. In short, he’s not overly concerned with recent spying revelations or anything like that. Instead, he finds Facebook’s market motives “creepy” and not all that supportive of games. Here’s the relevant bit:

    Facebook is not a company of grass-roots tech enthusiasts. Facebook is not a game tech company. Facebook has a history of caring about building user numbers, and nothing but building user numbers. People have made games for Facebook platforms before, and while it worked great for a while, they were stuck in a very unfortunate position when Facebook eventually changed the platform to better fit the social experience they were trying to build.

    Don’t get me wrong, VR is not bad for social. In fact, I think social could become one of the biggest applications of VR. Being able to sit in a virtual living room and see your friend’s avatar? Business meetings? Virtual cinemas where you feel like you’re actually watching the movie with your friend who is seven time zones away?

    But I don’t want to work with social, I want to work with games.

    Despite the Facebook deal, he has high hopes for virtual reality. He says that Oculus VR has already inspired competitors, like Sony’s Project Morpheus, and that he’ll gladly work on VR with one of them. He just doesn’t want to work with Facebook:

    Fortunately, the rise of Oculus coincided with competitors emerging. None of them are perfect, but competition is a very good thing. If this means there will be more competition, and VR keeps getting better, I am going to be a very happy boy. I definitely want to be a part of VR, but I will not work with Facebook. Their motives are too unclear and shifting, and they haven’t historically been a stable platform. There’s nothing about their history that makes me trust them, and that makes them seem creepy to me.

    It’s not until the end that we hear what may be the central reason for Notch canceling the deal with Oculus VR. In short, he may feel betrayed by the Facebook acquisition:

    And I did not chip in ten grand to seed a first investment round to build value for a Facebook acquisition.

    Well, there you have it. Minecraft will not be coming to the Oculus Rift in any official capacity. There are ways to play Minecraft on the VR headset, however, and Notch himself recommends Minecrift.

    Image via Oculus VR/Minecrift

  • ‘Minecraft’ Movie Might Actually Happen

    ‘Minecraft’ Movie Might Actually Happen

    Software sales have shown that Minecraft is one of the most popular video games of the past few years. The game has almost continuously appeared on best-seller charts for every platform it has appeared on, including mobile platforms. The game’s creative sandbox gameplay has been embraced by children around the world – something that even parents can approve of over other popular, often war-themed, video games.

    With its popularity still not waning it was only a matter of time before Minecraft began to seep into other forms of media. Deadline this week reported that Warner Bros. has acquired the rights for a Minecraft movie.

    Apparently, production is already beginning on the movie project. According to the report the movie will be produced primarily by Vertigo Entertainment. No writer or director have yet been attached to the project.

    In addition to the Deadline report, the project has also been confirmed by Markus “Notch” Persson, founder of Minecraft developer Mojang:

    As yet another video game movie, fans of Minecraft would be right to be skeptical of the movie project. However, Warner Bros. just this month released The Lego Movie, a movie based off a product line that has managed to win over critics and fans alike. With the right writing and production team, Minecraft could easily end up being the best video game movie adaptation ever made.

  • Minecraft Pocket Edition Has Not Been Forgotten

    With the success of Minecraft on consoles and PCs, it’s hard to remember that the game remains insanely popular on mobile devices as well. In fact, it’s sold more than 10 million copies across both iOS and Android. Despite all this, some may start to feel that the mobile version is taking a backseat to the console and PC version. Those fans will be happy to hear that’s not the case.

    Mojang updated its official blog today to let Minecraft Pocket Edition fans know that development is still going strong on their favorite mobile title. While no reason is given for the lack of large updates, Mojang says that it’s “restructuring a lot of code.” Why?

    We’re working on restructuring a lot of code to allow significantly bigger worlds in future updates. We’re also updating the AI, inventory, and a bunch of other things.

    It certainly sounds like the team at Mojang has a big update on its hands and it won’t be ready for a while. That could certainly explain why Minecraft Pocket Edition has been lagging in updates. One would assume it will all be worth it though once it launches at some point in the future.

    In other news, Mojang will be “pausing access” to Pocket Realms on March 1. From that time until it’s restored, players won’t be able to play Minecraft Pocket Edition online. Mojang says the “pause” is due to the team putting the finishing touches on the PC version of Realms, and will return to Pocket Realms once the PC version is done. Oh, and don’t worry, all your saved progress in Pocket Realms will still be there once it comes back online.

    Image via Mojang

  • Marvel Skin Pack For Minecraft Out Now

    Activision’s Marvel games have vanished from digital storefronts as the publisher’s license with the comic book company has expired. What’s a Marvel fan who wants to play as their favorite heroes to do then? Well, there’s always the odd used physical copy hanging around in stores, or you could just play Minecraft as Iron Man. They’re both about the same thing, right?

    In mid-December, Microsoft and Marvel announced that a Marvel skin pack would be coming to Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition. This skin pack would allow players to dress up their players as members of The Avengers and other well-known Marvel heroes from both the comics and films.

    Well, now the skin pack has been released, and Microsoft has a new trailer out that shows what a Minecraft populated with blocky Marvel characters would look like. Spoiler: It’s the same Minecraft as before, but now you can pretend to be Loki as you build a fortress out of obsidian.

    You can grab the Marvel skin pack for Minecraft now for $2.99.

    Image via MS Launchworks/YouTube

  • Marvel Characters Coming To Minecraft On Xbox 360

    Minecraft on consoles will always be considered the inferior experience thanks to a lack of mods. That doesn’t mean console players get no customization options though. In fact, the Xbox 360 version of the game has received plenty of DLC, and will be getting even more soon.

    Microsoft and Marvel jointly announced today that characters from the Marvel universe will be coming to Minecraft in the form of character skins. The announcement says that the DLC pack will add an additional 35 player skins for players to choose from, but it doesn’t list all of the available characters.

    At this time, we know that the Marvel DLC pack will contain the following characters:

  • Captain America
  • Iron Man
  • Hulk
  • Thor
  • Nick Fury
  • Black Widow
  • Hawkeye
  • Loki
  • Wasp
  • Falcon
  • Vision
  • Maria Hill
  • Agent Coulson

    • According to the announcement, Marvel is sticking strictly with characters from The Avengers universe as seen in the film and comics. Don’t expect any X-Men or Spider-Man at this point, but they will probably come soon enough.

    It should also be noted that this DLC looks to be exclusive to the Xbox 360. While Minecraft finally launched on the PS3 yesterday, there’s no DLC currently announced for that version of the game. It is coming, however, and it might even feature some Sony-specific skins. I myself would be totally fine with the Xbox 360 getting Marvel skins and the PS3 getting DC skins. After all, DC characters are already coming to LittleBigPlanet this week.

    Image via Xbox Wire

  • Minecraft, Candy Crush, Duolingo Snag Top App Store Honors

    Apple is the latest to reveal their 2013 year-in-review, and their editor’s pick for best app of the year is free language learning app Duolingo.

    Apple describes the app, which finally opened wide to the public in June of 2012, as “fantastically well-designed and easy to use.” Duolingo offers free language learning via a series of translation mini-games and at the same time helps crowdsource the translation of many online sites and documents (that’s where Duolingo sources its course material).

    Of course, the Editor’s Pick is a subjective trophy. Moving on to more objective winners, Minecraft is your #1 top paid app of the year.

    And when it comes to free apps, addictive puzzle game Candy Crush Saga took home the prize for most-downloaded.

    Of course, the App Store isn’t all about apps – there’s plenty of music, movies, and books being downloaded from Apple’s digital hub.

    Apple named Justin Timberlake their artist of the year and gave Lorde’s “Royals” the song of the year honors. Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience was the most-purchased album of the year, followed by Beyonce’s recent surprise release and Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions.

    Your most-purchased movies on iTunes were Skyfall, Wreck-It-Ralph, and Argo. And your number one TV show, both in terms of editor’s pick and total purchases was Breaking Bad, of course (what else?).

    You can check out all of the top apps, books, podcasts, movies, TV shows, and more at Apple’s Best-Of-2013 hub on iTunes.

    Image via iTunes

  • Minecraft Finally Comes To PS3 On Tuesday

    Minecraft Finally Comes To PS3 On Tuesday

    At Gamescom this year, Sony announced that Minecraft would finally be making its way to the PS4. It was later announced that the game would be coming to the PS3 and PS Vita as well. It was said that Minecraft would launch with the PS4, but that obviously didn’t happen. It won’t even hit the console this year, but it will be out on at least one Sony console before the year ends.

    Mojang announced today that Minecraft will finally make its way to the PS3 on Tuesday, December 17. The PS3 version of the game will be identical to the version that Xbox 360 owners currently have, and both versions will be updated at the same pace from here on out.

    So, what about the previously promised PS4 and PS Vita versions of Minecraft? Mojang says that they’re currently still in development, and that they won’t be out until sometime next year. There’s no word yet either on if the PS4 version will support remote play or if there will be cross save support across the three consoles.

    Aside from the base game, Mojang says that the PS3 version of Minecraft will receive plenty of DLC texture packs and skins. While no packs are explicitly mentioned, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Skyrim DLC made its way to the PS3 version at some point. As for Playstation-specific content, Mojang only says that it “would be cool.” While not a confirmation, you can bet that we’ll see Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Daxter skins show up in Minecraft.

    UPDATE: An official trailer showing the PS3 version of Minecraft in action has just been released:

    [Image: PlayStation Blog]

  • Minecraft Pocket Edition Gets Biggest Update Yet

    With all the noise surrounding Minecraft on consoles and PC, it’s hard to forget that the game is still plugging away on mobile as well. For the millions of players who own it on their respective mobile device, big updates are rare. That’s why today’s announcement is especially exciting.

    Mojang announced today that Minecraft Pocket Edition has been updated to version 0.8.0. While we’re still quite a ways away from the fabled version 1.00, it doesn’t mean that Mojang has been slacking off on adding new features. Here’s all the new stuff you can get today with the latest update:

  • Minecarts, rails, and powered rails!
  • The view distance has been massively increased. Check the options menu for more!
  • New textures and colours taken directly from the PC version
  • New blocks: carpets, more wood types, hay bales, iron bars, and more
  • New crops and food types, including beetroot, carrots, potatoes and pumpkins. Now you can cook new soups, pies, and more!
  • A bunch of new items for Creative and Survival, including clocks and compasses
  • More blocks and items to use in Creative Mode: including jungle wood, ice, bedrock, shears, dyes, and tall grass
  • New AI: mobs are now more intelligent and you can even breed your own animals
  • A new Creative Mode inventory with tabs
  • New functionality and tweaks to existing blocks and items. Bonemeal lets you grow new cool stuff!
  • Improved lighting and fog effects
  • Loads of bugs fixed, and possibly some added.

    • You can grab the newly updated Minecraft Pocket Edition from Google Play, iTunes or the Amazon Appstore.

    As for the other versions of Minecraft, the game is still coming to the Xbox One, PS4 and PS Vita at some point in the future. The Xbox 360 version of the game is still receiving regular updates as well, with the latest being a Skyrim skin pack.

    [Image: Mojang]

  • Minecraft Can Now Be Played In School

    Move over, Oregon Trail. Minecraft, the popular sandbox game where players build worlds out of 3D boxes, is being used for the first time in an elementary school in Davie, Florida. The game, which has no real end and no way to lose, allows students to use their imagination to build and explore their own worlds.

    Matt Munro, a computer science teacher at the elementary school, says that the game allows students to explore engineering interests, while at the same time develops technology and science skills. Munro explains that the gameplay “could raise cognitive learning for students by as much as 12 percent and improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving ability and memory.”

    Minecraft’s gameplay is completely up to the player, who uses the resources provided in the game to build a world of their wildest imagination. Over on their official website, the creators of Minecraft celebrate the game’s many possibilities. “It can be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether. Or you can visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea.” The official Minecraft trailer below gives a nice overview of the game’s basics and shows off some of the stunning visuals you can create:


    If you’re curious to learn more Minecraft (or still really have no idea what it is), the hour long documentary about the game went live on Youtube about a week ago, and is free to watch in its entirety. The game is available as a PC/Mac download from their website, or on your XBOX 360. Recently, the game surpassed the 12 million downloads mark.

    image via YouTube

  • That Minecraft Documentary Is Now Free To Watch On YouTube

    That Minecraft Documentary Is Now Free To Watch On YouTube

    Late last year, 2 Player Productions released a documentary called Minecraft: The Story of Mojang. The film explored the origins of Minecraft and the immense impact it has had on the gaming community and players all around the world. Since its release, you could purchase the film for as little as $8, but now it’s free.

    2 Player Productions released the entirety of Minecraft: The Story of Mojang on YouTube today. The one-hour-and-44-minute film is all here for your viewing pleasure on everybody’s not-so-favorite-anymore video streaming portal.

    Of course, the fun part of it being on YouTube means that you can watch the entire film below. So grab a snack, get comfortable and get ready to watch one of the best gaming documentaries ever made:

    If you liked the film and want to support the super talented guys over at 2 Player Productions, you can purchase the 2-disc DVD Limited Edition of the documentary over at their Web site. You can also pick up the C418 composed soundtrack while you’re at it.

    [Image: 2PlayerProductions/YouTube]

  • Skyrim Mash-Up Pack Coming To Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition

    It’s been almost two years since Skyrim came out and devoured what little free time you had. Now you find the game a little boring though, and you don’t go back to it as much anymore. Unfortunately, there won’t be any more DLC released for it, but you can soon experience Skyrim in an entirely new way in Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition.

    At Minecon 2013, Mojang and Besthesda jointly announced that Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition would be getting what they The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mash-up pack. As its name implies, it’s a conversion pack for Minecraft that changes the textures and character models to look more like the world of Skyrim.

    That’s not all either as the pack will contain much more. Here’s what the official release has to say:

    Developed by 4J Studios, “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” Mash-Up features an exclusive Skyrim-themed texture set, 40 character skins, themed menus and user interface, craftable items, and more than 20 iconic selections from “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” original game soundtrack. The comprehensive pack also includes a stunning pre-made world, recreating the memorable areas of Whiterun, Riverwood, and Bleak Falls Barrow.

    The most appealing part of this pack is that it contains a pre-made world that looks to recreate Skyrim in Minecraft. There have surely been projects that have already aimed to do so, but what could be more fun than deconstructing the world of Skyrim in everybody’s favorite brick laying simulator?

    Unfortunately, there’s no release date for the pack just yet. It will be playable this weekend at Minecon in Orlando, Florida though.

    [Image: playxbla]

  • Minecraft 1.6 Adds Horses, Gets A New Launcher

    Minecraft 1.6 is now available for all you PC players that have been patiently awaiting the latest update. This time, Mojang has added a number of new features for all you equine fans out there. It also has a new launcher that’s required for all upcoming updates.

    Here’s the full update list:

  • Added Horses
  • Added Donkeys, Mules
  • Added Horse Armor
  • Added Leads (For wolves/dogs/animals)
  • Added Carpets
  • Added Hardened Clay, Stained Clay
  • Added Block of Coal
  • Added Name Tags (item)
  • Added Hay Bales
  • Texture packs are now “resource packs” that also can hold sound etc
  • Food meter is now drained when healed by full food meter
  • Gamerule: You can turn off the daylight cycle

    • The addition of horses will likely inspire all kinds of new Minecraft parodies involving magical ponies, or just jokes about horse armor. Either way, you can expect a deluge of new content from Minecraft players and creators over the coming months as they pick apart the latest update.

    Oh, and if you were planning on downloading the 1.6 update, you’ll need to download the new launcher first. There’s no way around it either as the old launcher will only update to version 1.5.2. The new launcher is necessary in delivering the following perks – “streamlined downloading of Minecraft updates, increased password security, the ability to switch between game versions, the use of updated game code libraries for increased performance and stability, and it paves the way for the future plugin APIs.”

    You can grab the new launcher here.