It was just a matter of time before one of the most popular games of this decade would pop up during the Microsoft E3 presentation with Minecraft Realms. ‘Connectivity’ was the big buzzword for this segment of the show as it was shown that Realms would be linked between PC (it wasn’t clear if this would just be through Windows 10 or not), Android, iOS devices, Xbox Ones and even Oculus Rift versions. Players will be able to use crossplay to jump into other creators’ worlds and give them items and even build structures on other people’s turf.
There were some other surprises with this news with new texture packs (like a cityscape) being announced for purchase right now. There will also be larger and more substantial add-on DLC that will change the behaviors of enemies and NPCs. We were shown a bunch of townspeople decked out in G-men attire as they fought zombies reskinned as aliens that actually were firing off ray guns. These packs will be available on mobile devices and Windows 10 this fall and for consoles next year.
Minecraft Realms is free and out right now for basically everything but PlayStation and Nintendo platforms. However, the presentation did keep on mentioning that they wanted all devices to eventually to connect, so it begs the question whether the Microsoft-owned Minecraft will ever link up with their direct competitors. Only time will answer that burning, blocky question, and we’ll be there to let you know.