Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Minecraft Windows 10 update introduces cross-platform multiplayer

By

minecraft windows 10 adds cross platform multiplayer header
The newly updated Windows 10 version of Mojang’s creative construction sim Minecraft now allows players to team up with local friends who own copies of Minecraft: Pocket Edition for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices.

Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta now supports cross-platform local multiplayer, letting users within the same household join five-player sessions across Windows 10 PCs and mobile devices. Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta also supports same-platform online multiplayer over Xbox Live.

Recommended Videos

Mobile players in particular will discover a wealth of new features in Minecraft‘s latest version, which Microsoft describes as “the biggest update for Minecraft: Pocket Edition to date.” New and expanded features for mobile users include new craftable items, potions, and equipment, along with new monsters like golems and ocelots.

Related

Minecraft: Pocket Edition additionally boasts redesigned touch controls and controller support via a new controller mapping screen. Weather effects introduced in the Windows 10 version of Minecraft, including directional rain and accumulating snow, have also made the trip over to Pocket Edition. Players are now able sprint and sneak starting with today’s Minecraft: Pocket Edition update, and mobile users can finally explore Minecraft‘s endgame area, the Nether.

This week’s cross-platform expansion follows up on Microsoft’s purchase of Minecraft and its creator Mojang in 2014. The buyout saw the departure of Mojang studio founder Markus “Notch” Persson later that year.

In the months following Microsoft’s acquisition, Minecraft landed on Windows Phone platforms, and a revamped Windows 10 edition launched in beta form in July. Microsoft has also used the popular game to demonstrate its in-development smart glasses headset Microsoft HoloLens.

Though Minecraft‘s core premise consists of free-form gameplay, Mojang plans to roll out a narrative-focused Story Mode for its game in the coming months. Developed by acclaimed adventure game developer Telltale Games, Minecraft: Story Mode is expected to launch as soon as the holiday season of 2015.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Danny Cowan
Danny Cowan
Contributor
Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…
Top 10 Windows shortcuts everyone should know
An individual using a laptop's keyboard.

Windows shortcuts are a constantly-used feature by practically all PC users. Apart from saving you time from carrying out the specific command without having to perform a few extra clicks on your mouse, it’s simply more convenient to refer back to shortcuts via your keyboard.

Although you may be satisfied with the Windows shortcuts you already know about and utilize on a daily basis, you can enhance your general Windows experience in a big way with these 10 shortcuts everyone should know.
Ctrl + Z
Tired of always having to use your mouse to find and click the Undo button on a program like Microsoft Word or, say, entering details on a website or editing images? Ctrl + Z will basically undo whatever your last action was, providing you a convenient way to reverse edits and changes within a second. From personal experience, this shortcut proved to be especially useful for productivity applications.
Ctrl + Shift + T
We’ve all been there. Nowadays, our browsers are inundated with multiple tabs, and as such, it’s hard to keep track of at times. Eventually, you’re going to close a tab on accident when trying to select it. Instead of trying to remember what it was or spending a few seconds accessing it and reopening it via the Recently Closed feature (on Chrome), simply hit Ctrl + Shift + T to restore the last closed tab. Similarly, Ctrl + N will open a new tab.
Alt + Tab

Read more
After 10 years of headaches, I’m finally a believer in Windows on ARM
The Microsoft Surface 3 with its blue keyboard.

Almost two years in, Apple is on the verge of completing its transition to ARM. It might surprise you to know, then, that Microsoft started its own journey to ARM chips long before Apple.

But Windows' support for ARM has been far less smooth. There aren't many more Windows devices with ARM chips than there were five years ago -- and I can attest to having personally used every failed attempt along the way.

Read more
The latest Windows update is causing major printer problems
A Dell laptop with Windows 10 sitting on a desk.

Microsoft is now offering Windows 10 users a workaround for an issue that has come along with a mid-July update.

The KB5015807 update, which rolled out on July 12 and includes OS Builds 19042.1826, 19043.1826, and 19044.1826 all have a glitch that affects printers connected to computers running Windows 10. After the update is installed, you might see multiple printer listings available when you only have one product.

Read more