Microsoft bought the very popular builder game Minecraft two years ago. Now that those two years have passed, Microsoft has a problem: What do we do next? How do we improve on this game to make it better?
Current issues with the game include its age. The game is now 7 years old. Work has been made on the game to make it more current but Mojang developer Nathan Adams compared the current work on the game to rebuilding the engines of a jet plane in the middle of a flight, because “taking the game down to patch just isn’t an option.” Developers also say that difficulties associated with coding the game prevent the addition of features that the Minecraft community might want.
Last month’s Minecon brought together the developers of the game, the YouTubers who create Minecraft videos, the modders who create the new ways to play, and the builders who made the world that Minecraft fans love. Saxs Persson, developer of the Pocket and Windows 10 version of Minecraft said that unity is really what makes the game what it is and that they want to continue down that path.
We want everybody to play with everybody. Minecraft is better when you can connect to your world wherever you [are] with whatever device.
Windows 10 and Pocket players already experience cross-platform play. That leaves out the console players, whom Persson wants to bring to the players of the Windows 10 and Pocket versions of Minecraft for cross-platform play, which is a part of Persson’s “picture of complete compatibility.”
His goal of iPad, computer and console players playing together is pretty lofty. Different versions of Minecraft have different features, but Persson didn’t see it as a big problem. He says that there’s nothing holding them back from connecting the different versions and that variety isn’t the goal.
Uniting the system’s might not even be popular among players, as players are generally okay with where the game is. However, longtime Minecraft YouTubers are moving on to different projects or careers and map creators are now moving on to creating multiplayer maps as opposed to single player maps.
According to fans who attended Minecon, the future of Minecraft will have to do with the people who make the game great, not any extra technology to make the game better.