The ability for mobile gamers to team up and build to their heart’s content in a single Minecraft: Pocket Edition map has been around for a while. However, now owners of the Windows 10 Edition Beta of Minecraft can jump into the multiplayer fun as well, presumably bringing Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Windows 10 customers together in a virtual world for the first time.
The news arrives via Xbox Wire, which reports that the upcoming 0.12.1 update will open the world up to five players on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. There's a catch, however: These players must be on the same local network. The report also states that the update will allow Windows 10 Edition Beta players to team up with four other Windows 10 customers via Xbox Live.
According to the report, the mobile version of Minecraft will have better touch controls, updated controller support, and an updated controller mapping screen. The mobile apps will even get the enhanced weather effects that made their debut in the Windows 10 version, such as directional rain and snow accumulation.
“In addition to plenty of new goodies to build and potions to brew, you’ll now be able to encounter golems and ocelots, and even explore the Nether. Finally, this update brings the ability to sneak and sprint in Pocket Edition,” the report states.
Back in July, Mojang and Microsoft announced that the Windows 10 version of Minecraft can be acquired for free. The catch is that customers will need to have already purchased the Java-based version on the PC or Mac platforms. To install the game, customers must first log into their Minecraft account, hit the “redeem” button, and then sign into their Microsoft account.
Microsoft purchased Minecraft developer Mojang back in September 2014. The studio said that owner and founder Markus “Notch” Persson was the majority stock owner and didn’t want to own a company “of such global significance.”
“Over the past few years he’s made attempts to work on smaller projects, but the pressure of owning Minecraft became too much for him to handle,” the studio said at the time. “The only option was to sell Mojang. He’ll continue to do cool stuff though. Don’t worry about that.”
The Windows 10 version of Minecraft launched on July 29, the same day Windows 10 was made available to the general public. The Pocket Edition first made its debut on Android with support for Sony’s short-lived Xperia Play gaming phone back in October 2011.
From maximumpc
from http://bit.ly/1UzRyWV
