One of the biggest hits in modern gaming isMinecraft. Initially launching in 2011, the procedurally generated open-world sandbox game has gone on tosell over 200 million copies, making it one of the highest selling video games ever made. While the game has been featured on almost every game console to release since 2011, even including handhelds like the New Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita, today the game has reached another milestone as it launches on Sony’s PlayStation VR as part of a free update for the PlayStation 4 version.
While this is not the first timeMinecrafthas seen a virtual reality release, with the game launching on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR platforms in 2016, this marks the first appearance ofMinecrafton a console based VR platform such as PlayStation VR. Better yet,the PlayStation VR release is free to allMinecraftowners on PlayStation 4. According to Mojang, the PSVR release of the game has been planned ever since the team brought theMinecraft Bedrock Editionto PlayStation 4 and enabled cross-platform play in late 2019.
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Mojang also claims that the version ofMinecraftlaunching in PlayStation VR today isnot watered down at all. According to Mojang, “It is 100% the sameMinecraftgame that you may play every day, every week, every month, every year…on PlayStation 4. Nothing removed. 100% wholesome & pure full-fatMinecraft.” There are two modes available for PlayStation VR users upon downloading the update, “Immersive” mode and “Living Room” mode. Mojang has yet to reveal details for either of these modes, however it did confirm that the game will be controlled using a Dualshock 4 controller over the PlayStation Move controllers.
MinecraftPlayStation VR support is a feature many fans have requested since Mojang enabled cross-play last year following Sony’s change towards disabling Xbox, Nintendo and mobile players from playing games likeMinecraftandFortnitetogether. This is an especially exciting time to release a PlayStation VR compatible update forMinecraft, as the game has a major resurgence in popularitydue to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A spin-off game titledMinecraft: Dungeonsalso released on PlayStation 4 earlier this year.
While it is exciting to finally receive PlayStation VR support for the game, many PSVR fans are concerned for the future of the platform given that Sony has yet to announce any plans for PlayStation 5 support for the headset. While Sony has confirmed that PlayStation 5will run backwards-compatible PlayStation VR games with improved frame-rates, it has not announced any plans for a follow-up to the 2016 headset nor any PlayStation 5 games that support PlayStation VR natively. Likewise, Mojang has yet to announce any plans for a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X enhanced release ofMinecraft.
Minecraftis available on PlayStation VR today as a free update to the PlayStation 4 release.
