Minecraft Earth Releases in October

Minecraft is going more mobile than ever next month when Minecraft Earth releases in October in an early access form. Mojang announced the upcoming release of the augmented reality take on Minecraft during its big Minecon event and said the mobile spin-off will be playable by the public for the first time soon. Select countries will get the first shot at the game, but it'll eventually be available around the world.

The trailer above was released during the event to show off some more of what you'll be able to do in Minecraft Earth. By using mobile devices that can run the game, you'll be able to see the world of Minecraft in your own world as blocks, pigs, and other mobs are viewed through the AR lens of your device. Just as you build things and fight enemies in Minecraft to amass your resources and create blocky spectacles, you'll be able to perform similar tasks in Minecraft Earth.

"Minecraft Earth is an all-new augmented reality game you can play on your mobile devices that brings the Minecraft world into our universe!" the game's site said about the new Minecraft experience. "Through the lens of the game, you'll be able to build creations with friends and place them in the real world at life-size. You'll discover exciting new mobs to use in your builds. And you may need to put your survival skills to the test as you explore a new side to your neighborhood and battle Minecraft mobs in real life."

After you find resources around the world called "Tappables" that you add to your collection, you'll then use those to create things using "Build Plates." This adds a bit more structure to players' creations and also provides an incentive to keep exploring. The more Tappables you acquire while playing, the more experience you'll earn to level up. Reaching higher levels means unlocking more Build Plates, and Mojang said it has plans to continue added these blueprints to the game after its release.

To play with others, you can invite friends to come check out your Build Plates when you're working on one. They'll be able to manipulate the objects there just like they could in a normal Minecraft session, but there's a separate feature called "Play Mode" for when you just want to experiment without worrying about messing up your creations.

"However, when you are in life-size Play mode, you are playing an instance of the world," Mojang said. "Nothing gets saved. So, feel free to burn, pillage, and hunt the mobs in there. Play mode is built for shenanigans and action. After the session ends, everything is back to where it was, and nothing is lost."

Minecraft Earth is scheduled to release for mobile devices in an early access form starting this October.