As Minecraft heads to Oculus Rift, virtual world meets virtual reality

If you have an Oculus Rift headset, you can now use it to explore and build in the world of Minecraft.

Microsoft-owned developer Mojang has announced that it has updated its Lego-like virtual world game to support the new virtual reality headset from Facebook’s Oculus unit. Mojang customised the game in numerous ways, including changing what happens when users turn around in their worlds, to better the experience for Rift users.

“Minecraft has always been on the forefront of technology,” says Saxs Persson, a studio manager at Microsoft and a member of its Minecraft team, in a promotional video. “So we’re trying as much as possible to have Minecraft available wherever people want to create.”

Bringing a virtual-world game to a virtual reality headset is likely to benefit the companies behind each product, analysts say. “It’s definitely a good fit,” said Billy Pidgeon, an independent games-industry analyst.

Users will be able to play the new Rift-compatible version of Minecraft with a keyboard and mouse or an Xbox One controller. They’ll also be able to experience the game in two different ways.

They can immerse themselves in the virtual world they are building. Alternatively, they can shift to something Mojang calls the “Virtual Living Room”, which allows them to play Minecraft as they would in the real world, by viewing it on a screen in a room in their house – in this case, a virtual screen in a computer-generated house. The mode was designed to “give players a break” from being fully immersed in their Minecraft worlds, Persson says.