Even though Minecraft became a 'complete' game back in 2011 with version 1.0, the game has hardly stopped adding new features. Not to mention Pocket Edition, Xbox 360/One Edition, PS3/PS4 Edition, and Vita Edition are all actively developed. This past year, Minecraft went from version 1.7.4 to version 1.8.1. Mojang was bought by Microsoft in a suprise move, and a spin-off game was announced. But what's next in store for Minecraft in 2015? Last year we did it for 2014, and now we have summed up our thoughts on what could happen in 2015:
Let us know what you think 2015 may hold for Minecraft in the comments.
- Minecraft PC Edition: Just on the horizon is the 1.8.2 release, and the first snapshots of Minecraft PC 1.9 sometime this month. Potentially a new GUI, shaders (not the advanced ones you see in mods, but still), a new cloud rendering system, and dozens more un-announced features. Beyond that we can expect Minecraft 1.10, and 1.11, and so on.
- Minecraft Xbox/PS Edition: Just before the end of the year, 4J Studios bumped all the console editions to PC 1.6.4. It's safe to assume the console versions will continue to be updated in this manner, but based on data we analyzed last year, we're not sure how quick.
- Minecraft Pocket Edition: It's a bit hard to expect what is coming this year for Pocket Edition. We know for certain that all features that were delayed in 0.9.0 and 0.10.0 are coming in future releases. Skin support, boats, more mobs, etc. are all expected. The developers said we can expect 'fun' features in 0.12.0, so maybe they have some surprises up their sleeves.
- Minecraft Pi Edition: With absolutely no news of this edition coming out in 2015, besides it being announced it's a last priority. The Raspberry Pi Foundation did work on an update, but only to support Python 3 mods and nothing added to the gameplay. Honestly I think Pi Edition may be dead.
- Minecraft Story Mode: Just before the end of 2014, Telltale Studios announced a spin-off of Minecraft as a story-driven adventure game. The first 'season' (collection of interactive episodes) will be released early this year, so we will have to stay tuned.
- Minecraft Wii U/3DS Edition: A port of Minecraft to Nintendo's consoles has been rumored for years, but nothing has happened yet. There's always a chance one (or both) of these could be released this year.
- Microsoft Purchase: Last year Microsoft suprised us all by buying Mojang for $2.5 billion. The only problem I see in the long-term from the purchase is the blame - Minecraft fans will blame everything negative on Microsoft purchasing Mojang. Obviously we don't know for sure what Microsoft has it's hands in over at Mojang, but already it's clear to see fans blaming everything they see as negative on Microsoft. I'm sure you've already heard "A new spin-off game? Microsoft wants more money!".
Let us know what you think 2015 may hold for Minecraft in the comments.