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Minecraft Earth

Not to be confused with Minecon Earth.

Minecraft Earth
Developer(s)Mojang Studios
Blackbird Interactive
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Director(s)
  • Torfi Frans Olafsson
  • Craig Leigh[1]
Composer(s)Shauny Jang[2]
SeriesMinecraft
Platform(s)
Release
  • 17 October 2019; 5 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]

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

References

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  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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Minecraft Earth FAQs". Minecraft.net. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b 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.
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