This Company is Building an AR Version of ‘Minecraft’ for iOS and Android

News Bits

By
Scott Hayden
-
11

South African startup Speak Geek? recently teased an update to their project that aims to replicate the official Microsoft version of Minecraft for HoloLens, the company’s $3000 AR headset, and put it on mobile devices capable of running Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit.

This is the company’s second attempt at bringing Minecraft to AR, the first taking place in 2015 right after the multiplayer version for HoloLens was unveiled. Now, with the release of Google ARCore and Apple ARKit, Speak Geek? says they’re streamlining their first attempt to make a smoother experience for users to view their worlds in AR.

The app interfaces with Minecraft via Forge and the Raspberry Jam Mod. You then find an open world via WiFi and display it.

While the prototype only incorporates a viewer function at this time, the company says they have their eye on building a complete Minecraft client which would include a way to interact with the map via “minions” who you could order to collect resources while away from the PC. The company maintains that these ideas aren’t currently implemented, but could become a reality in the near future.

With enough support, Speak Geek? says they’ll release a version soon to a select group to start playing. Keep an eye on the MinecraftAR for more updates.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Adrian Meredith

    Why?

    • Dylan Holshausen

      Hi @adrianmeredith:disqus. If by why you mean why Minecraft AR? I guess as it is right now (just a viewer) it seems a little pointless, however it does give players the ability to see creations in a whole new way. Keep in mind though that this is just the beginning of the project and we hope to eventually move on to making a full blown client to play actual Minecraft from a completely new perspective. Possibly adding in some new game modes as well.

      • Darshan

        Wish to see game where enemies pop out from your ceiling and walls and you got to gaze lock and kill them by touch… lot of fun if its not breaking fundamental immersion laws. If wave based game planned properly it could be huge fun thus success too.

        • Dylan Holshausen

          Well let’s hope Magic Leap is as “Magic” as they claim to be. This isn’t crazy far out though with current tech and a controlled “pre-setup” environment. Exciting times ahead!

  • Darshan

    Will it be supporting cardboard device? like stereo world built on rear camera pass through video feed? If they implement this without performance glitches it will surely beat Pokemon go success… But it got to be Cardboard VR 3D not just plain 2D

    • Dylan Holshausen

      Hi @dashing23:disqus, I’m the CTO of Speak Geek? and the head of this project. I guess stereoscopic rear camera pass through would depend on the devices (hardware wise) it runs on but adding in other SDKs like Google Cardboard would be easy enough. We are currently speeding up world generation and getting world data onto the users device faster by writing our own Mod and then will be adding in multiple headset/viewer compatibility.

      • Darshan

        @Dylan that was lightning reply.. Didn’t expected to hear from developer. Must say i developed love for this place for such opportunity….

        Can’t wait to see cardboard iteration of your work, it will rock without doubt. I understand it will need faster camera and processor phones with minimum latency added. But when you are in cardboard you really dont have way to compare the movement from real world other than just wild guessing your head movement and discrepancy in relevant video move. ( #have you ever tried GEAR VR peep real world?) so for selected high end devices it can do wonder … I am very impressed with kind of latency free AR offered by iPhone X demo. Please work in that direction too.

        Best of luck for shining future.

        • Dylan Holshausen

          For sure, thank you for the feedback. Make sure to check in on our web page from time to time!

          All the best!

  • Andrew Jakobs

    Snore… really don’t see the advantage or fun of having it in AR. but that’s just me, only thing I think AR is good for is for practical stuff, not really gaming.

  • walan

    How to play minecraft on pc?
    freeminecraftunblocked.info/minecraft-games

  • Old story with a broken video link. :p