It was back in January this year that Microsoft announced it was making an effort to bring Minecraft to schools. It can do that now since it owns Mojang, the company that makes Minecraft, and for that purpose, it announced Minecraft: Education Edition. The company has revealed some more details about Minecraft: Education Edition and it has also confirmed that this version of the game that’s aimed at teachers will be coming out next month.
This is fundamentally similar to the Minecraft that millions of people across the globe have been playing for years, but it does come with new features that are focused on ease of use, like an in-game camera, a scrapbook for taking notes as well as improved mapping features and giving teachers the control to lock in resources for students.
Microsoft says that it’s going to run a beta program for Minecraft: Education Edition with more than 100 schools in 30 countries across the globe. The schools will help Microsoft by providing feedback about any and all issues which can be fixed before Minecraft: Education Edition gets a truly global release.
Later on in June, Microsoft is going to launch an “early access” program which will allow schools to download Minecraft: Education Edition for free provided that they give feedback. In June, it will be available in 41 countries across the globe and in 11 languages. Microsoft will continue to expand the program throughout the summer.
The company is going to provide more details about plans and pricing for Minecraft: Education Edition later this year. It will be available for purchase via direct and volume licensing channels.
Filed in . Read more about Microsoft and Minecraft. Source: education.minecraft.net