Players who are waiting for the virtual reality version of "Minecraft" will not have to wait long. Microsoft is launching early Oculus Rift support for Windows 10 versions of the game.
This was revealed in a post on Twitter by Tommaso Checchi. Checchi leads the design team for the Windows 10 and mobile versions of the well-loved virtual world simulator.
PSA: unsurprisingly, promised dates change :)
We said that Rift support would be in 0.15.6, but it will be out next week instead!— Tommaso Checchi (@_tomcc) August 11, 2016
According to Tech Radar, players can now use their Oculus Rift VR headgear with their Windows 10 computers starting next week. The article added that Xbox One controllers will be used to control in-game movements for the meantime. This is because the Oculus Touch VR controller for the Rift is still unavailable. Reports said that the Oculus Touch will be released in early 2017.
The game also became playable with Samsung's Gear VR for mobile phones. In addition, "Minecraft" was featured in Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality (AR) glasses project.
Microsoft officially unveiled the AR technology in the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo. During the event, Microsoft demonstrated the new technology using "Minecraft."
HoloLens will be able to project a game into a surface in the real world, CNET reported. During the demo, Microsoft attached the AR glasses to a camera lens and used it to film a player exploring the virtual world. The display was then projected onto a table in a fully three-dimensional image. Players were then able to manipulate the image to zoom in or zoom out of the image.
"Minecraft" is a popular virtual world simulator first developed by Mojang The game became popular for its open world that players can explore and build on. It also became distinguished due to its blocky graphics and pixelated visuals.
The game first launched in 2009. By 2011, the game was awarded various recognitions by the Game Developers Conference. Microsoft eventually purchased the game in 2014 when it acquired Mojang. The acquisition price was $2.5 billion. After the deal, Microsoft continued to develop the game and release updates.
