Minecraft Earth

"Minecraft Earth is an all-new augmented reality game you can play on your mobile devices that brings the Minecraft world into our universe! Through the lens of the game, you’ll be able to build creations with friends and place them in the real world at life-size. You’ll discover exciting new mobs to use in your builds. And you may need to put your survival skills to the test as you explore a new side to your neighborhood and battle Minecraft mobs in real life!"

Released: 2019
Platforms: Android iOS
Genres: Adventure Augmented reality Location-based Sandbox
Developers: Mojang Studios
Publishers: Mojang Studios Xbox Game Studios
Series: Minecraft
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Fantasy Sandbox
Age ratings: ESRB E10+

About

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 ended support and shut down on 30 June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

augmented reality

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

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 most 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.

Development

Minecraft Earth utilized information from OpenStreetMap for map information and was built on Microsoft Azure for its augmented reality features. Minecraft Earth's world map was generated using global OpenStreetMap data and divided into "several billion equally-sized chunks," allowing the game to determine player-accessible areas for spawning tappables and Adventures. The game was free-to-play, and supported Android and iOS smartphones.

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

Reception

Newshub described the game as "hugely ambitious". 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.

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

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.