Today, in an article penned by Marsh Davies, creative communications manager at Mojang, Minecraft’s Better Together beta test was announced, along with a whole bunch of upcoming new features.
Before the beta goes live, check out our list of the best Minecraft maps.
Back at E3, Microsoft released their plans for the Minecraft ‘Better Together’ Update, which would “unify console, mobile, and Windows 10 versions of the game under a single edition.” This will allow players on all of these platforms to “join each other in-game, create, cooperate or compete together on massive servers, and access whatever swish skins and Marketplace adventure maps they own on any of their compatible devices.”
The beta is rolling out today for Windows 10 and Android, while access for Xbox One players will roll out “in the coming days.” The article makes it clear that this is very much a stress test rather than a full roll-out of the game, and that access to new features will be gradually added until the official launch.
The update isn’t just bringing all versions of the game together under one roof, as there are a whole bunch of extra features that are also being added. These include parrots, armour stands, and stained glass, as well as new loading screens, start options, and world conversion. There are also loads of tweaks and bug fixes – you can check out the full changelog here.
If you want access to the updates you’ll need a digital copy of Minecraft, as the beta won’t be supporting physical copies of the game. You can find out how to get involved in testing at the bottom of the update article.