Minecraft: Gear VR Edition fans will have a new way to play in the next few weeks, but something much more exciting is also on the way for Oculus Rift players.
At this weekend’s MINECON expo in California, developer Mojang unveiled a very quick glimpse of the VR version of the game running with the Oculus Touch position tracked controllers. You can see the clip shown during Saturday’s livestream below. It’s just a few seconds long, but it’s enough to get us excited about the future of Minecraft on Rift. For the first time in the hugely popular series’ history, you’ll be able to wield swords, shoot arrows and, of course, mine with axes as if you were really holding the objects in your hand.
Mojang’s Soren Hannibal was the one to introduce the support during a panel focusing on the VR editions of Minecraft. “It’s hard to capture the feeling here of how you hold it up and, if you hold it in front of your eyes, you actually see the sword and the bow, everything in your hands,” Hannibal explained. He noted that the input method was very different from the traditional controller scheme, but it was still a “very cool experience.”
Minecraft hit the Oculus Rift back in August with rock solid integration. If you’re a fan of the game then you definitely need to try it in VR, and even if you aren’t there are few better games that can capture the tech’s stunning sense of scale.
What wasn’t mentioned on-stage was a possible release date for this Oculus Touch support. The controllers themselves aren’t actually out yet, but they are set for release before the end of the year. We’re expecting to learn final release details, including a solid price, at this year’s Oculus Connect 3 developer conference, the keynote talk for which kicks off on October 5th.
Until then, you’ll just have to keep on Minecraft-ing with an Xbox One controller.
