While this is not the first time Minecraft has seen a virtual reality release, with the game launching on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR platforms in 2016, this marks the first appearance of Minecraft on a console based VR platform such as PlayStation VR. Better yet, the PlayStation VR release is free to all Minecraft owners on PlayStation 4. According to Mojang, the PSVR release of the game has been planned ever since the team brought the Minecraft Bedrock Edition to PlayStation 4 and enabled cross-platform play in late 2019.
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Mojang also claims that the version of Minecraft launching in PlayStation VR today is not watered down at all. According to Mojang, “It is 100% the same Minecraft game that you can play every day, every week, every month, every year…on PlayStation 4. Nothing removed. 100% wholesome & pure full-fat Minecraft.” There are two modes available for PlayStation VR users upon downloading the update, “Immersive” mode and “Living Room” mode. Mojang has yet to reveal details for either of these modes, however it did confirm that the game will be controlled using a Dualshock 4 controller over the PlayStation Move controllers.
Minecraft PlayStation VR support is a feature many fans have requested since Mojang enabled cross-play last year following Sony’s change towards disabling Xbox, Nintendo and mobile players from playing games like Minecraft and Fortnite together. This is an especially exciting time to release a PlayStation VR compatible update for Minecraft, as the game has a major resurgence in popularity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A spin-off game titled Minecraft: Dungeons also released on PlayStation 4 earlier this year.
While it is exciting to finally receive PlayStation VR support for the game, many PSVR fans are concerned for the future of the platform given that Sony has yet to announce any plans for PlayStation 5 support for the headset. While Sony has confirmed that PlayStation 5 will run backwards-compatible PlayStation VR games with improved frame-rates, it has not announced any plans for a follow-up to the 2016 headset nor any PlayStation 5 games that support PlayStation VR natively. Likewise, Mojang has yet to announce any plans for a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X enhanced release of Minecraft.
Minecraft is available on PlayStation VR today as a free update to the PlayStation 4 release.
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