Experience virtual Minecraft right now thanks to the Gear VR release
It's not on the Rift yet, but at least Samsung's headset has it
Minecraft began life on PC, expanded to smartphones, tablets, and game consoles, and managed to many tens of millions of copies along the way. And now it’s making a move to headsets.
Versions of the block-building game have been confirmed for both the Microsoft HoloLens and Oculus Rift, but lo and behold, the first wearable version is out now on Gear VR – Samsung’s phone-based virtual reality headset.
While we didn’t have a date to look forward to, the release isn’t a huge surprise: Microsoft said last month that a Gear VR version was on the horizon for a debut this spring. Mojang says this version, available through the Oculus Store on Gear VR-compatible phones, has all the features of the Pocket Edition and can play against Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition players.
As the trailer above shows, you can play the game on a flat TV screen in a digital room, much like watching Netflix on the Gear VR – or you can kick it into immersive mode and really view the world in first-person with 360-degree vision. Assuming the latter isn’t too overwhelming or intense, we can’t imagine why you’d opt for the TV version in VR.
Minecraft: Gear VR Edition is priced at US$7 (nearly £5), which is the same as Pocket Edition on other devices, and you’ll need an external gamepad to play it. Mojang says it’ll run fine on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 inside your headset, but suggests that maybe the Galaxy Note 4 could struggle a bit with performance in the original Gear VR Innovator Edition.
"If you have the Samsung S6 or the snazzy new S7, the screen resolution is pretty fabulous – so you won’t be easily distracted by the pixels," writes Mojang blogger Marsh Davies. "Older phone models might not run the game quite as well in true stereo or with as high a draw distance, but it’s always amazing to plug yourself into the world of Minecraft without any cables tethering you to a PC. Just make sure you don’t tread on the cat!"
Read More › The 11 best Samsung Gear VR games and apps
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
