Minecraft’s Better Together Update is Here, Bringing Cross-Platform Play

Microsoft announced today that the Better Together update for Minecraft is available on Xbox One, Windows 10, Android, iOS, and VR. And yes, that means you can now game across these platforms.

“We’re releasing a new version of Minecraft that lets players on Xbox, mobile, VR, and Windows 10 play together,” Microsoft’s Marsh Davies explains. “It lets you take that Marketplace goodness from one device to another … lets you join massive servers, with communities numbering in millions of players and eccentric minigames to suit every taste. And that’s just the stuff we’re doing on top of the core game itself.”

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Microsoft announced its plans to bring Minecraft cross-platform back in June at E3. As I noted at the time, cross-platform compatibility was the holy grail for Minecraft fans because there were multiple versions of the game across various platforms, and they were not compatible with each other.

Since then, Microsoft offered a beta version of the Better Together update that enables this cross-platform play. And today, the final version is available.

How you get it will vary by platform. But if you purchased Minecraft on Xbox One digitally, or on Android, iOS, or Windows 10, you will get the update for free immediately. If you bought it on Xbox One on disc, you’ll need to wait a bit before your free download of the new Minecraft is available, Microsoft says. A version for the Nintendo Switch is coming too, but probably not until “this winter.”

 

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Conversation 14 comments

  • DaveHelps

    Premium Member
    20 September, 2017 - 1:58 pm

    <p>Cross-play across everything except PlayStation. Come on Sony, do it for the kids…</p>

  • Skolvikings

    20 September, 2017 - 5:28 pm

    <p>You could already play together across different mobile devices and tablets running Minecraft PE. I'd sometimes humor my kids by dropping into their Minecraft games. They on their Kindle tablets and me on my iPhone. It is nice though that they opened this up so that full versions of Minecraft can now play with Minecraft PE users.</p>

  • Kurt Koch

    20 September, 2017 - 5:47 pm

    <p>No Xbox 360 :-(</p>

    • Ukumio

      Premium Member
      20 September, 2017 - 9:02 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#178334"><em>In reply to Kurt_Koch:</em></a></blockquote><p>Last generation is dead, no new games have been released in ages and any updates to games and apps are simply to make sure it continues to work. Except that 360 Hulu app which got a brand new UI for some reason.</p>

      • NazmusLabs

        21 September, 2017 - 4:30 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#178391"><em>In reply to Ukumio:</em></a></blockquote><p>Minecraft on the 360 continues to get feature updates. Mojang promised the 360 will get minecraft updates for the foreseeable future keeping it in feature parity with the PC Minecraft. It just won't get the new bedrock engine that enables cross play, servers, mouse and keyboard support, and commands.</p>

        • Ukumio

          Premium Member
          21 September, 2017 - 5:16 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#180659"><em>In reply to NazmusLabs:</em></a></blockquote><p>Okay, so I looked it up, Minecraft X360 will still get updates but not by Mojang, instead it'll be kept up to date by the studio that worked on all the console versions until this update: 4J Studios.</p><p><br></p><p>So Minecraft X360 will get the same updates as PS4.</p>

          • NazmusLabs

            03 October, 2017 - 3:08 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#180781"><em>In reply to Ukumio:</em></a></blockquote><p>Correct.</p>

  • vernonlvincent

    Premium Member
    20 September, 2017 - 6:48 pm

    <p>Wondering if they are staggering the rollout? I've seen the update on my XB1 but not my Windows 10 machines.</p>

  • spacein_vader

    Premium Member
    21 September, 2017 - 6:27 am

    <p>To truly make it cross platform it should be buy once, play anywhere. MS is a bit ahead of the curve on that with its Win10/Xbone system &amp; Steam games that also support Mac &amp; Linux have those versions bundled too but it needs to become more standardised. </p>

  • nerdile

    Premium Member
    21 September, 2017 - 12:01 pm

    <p>This does not include the original/Java version, right? This is just pocket edition and consoles and the Windows 10 "store app" version.</p>

  • allancm

    21 September, 2017 - 3:35 pm

    <p>I'm surprised that it even works in Windows 10 mobile. Finally someone did a truly uwp app, xbox/pc/mobile(win10m/android), a little too late…</p>

  • WIZZARD

    21 September, 2017 - 10:01 pm

    <p>I absolutely ? it</p><p><br></p>

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