Minecraft Pocket Edition Release Date
Carmel Kittell
The term "Bedrock Edition" originates from the Bedrock codebase, which was created in the C++ programming language to run on platforms that cannot support Java. Code was added to accommodate differences in the target platforms for such facilities as networking and storage access, though around 90% of the code is used on every platform.[citation needed] This common core of functionality is called the "Bedrock Engine".[29]
The codebase resides within a software system that manages the pieces of code and tracks their evolution. This allows the codebase to host not only the current version but all past versions, the standalone Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS) versions, and several Beta versions simultaneously with no conflicts.
Target platform builds are created individually, then transmitted to the platform's app store. Most stores have their own compliance requirements and subject the incoming edition to a series of certification tests before making it available for download. Xbox Game Studios attempts to synchronize availability across stores, but the certification process is not under their control and can delay an edition's availability on a certain platform, especially if it fails certification and has to go back to the developers for a fix.
Together, these complications made the official name Minecraft useless for referring to the Bedrock editions collectively. The editors of this wiki, however, needed such a term in order to describe the functioning of the Bedrock Engine across all editions, so despite there not being a real Bedrock Edition, the wiki chose to use this as a term of art. Subsequently, the community adopted it as well and it is now the de facto standard term for referring to all the Bedrock editions collectively. Mojang Studios employees have also used Bedrock Edition to refer to said edition in news articles, until June 7, 2022 where both Java Edition for PC and Bedrock Edition for Windows are sold under one bundle, titled Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC, marking the first official use of "Bedrock Edition" as a subtitle in any Bedrock editions.[34]
The objective of the game remains the same as its Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition counterparts, where players can build virtual realities in a sandbox-like environment. Like them, Bedrock Edition has survival elements such as hunger and brewing, and the Nether and the End dimensions. The multiplayer mode is cross-platform compatible between all supported devices.[35]
Bedrock Edition differs from Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition in a variety of ways, such as more saturated graphics, different terrain generation, some exclusive items, and an official add-on system.[36] The HUD and other elements vary for each relevant device. Players can interact with the game via a keyboard and mouse, touchscreen, or a gamepad.
Some devices below these specifications have been known to work fine either with or without custom ROM images, kernels, and overclocking of the CPU. The MSM7227 CPU is not supported due to its lack of the floating-point unit.[40] The "Tegra 2" processor is also not supported because it lacks support for Neon.
A video of an early prototype was released on Twitter (now X), showing the game on the Xperia PLAY. The Alpha version was later released, and was released for different platforms on October 7, 2011. The non-exclusive version was going to be released on September 29 for Android[41] but there were several severe bugs that needed to be fixed; the release was delayed until October 7.
After the initial releases for Android and iOS, updates were released in parallel, with the same features being added for both platforms. During the Alpha stage, various aspects of gameplay were introduced into the Bedrock codebase including: crafting, smelting, more blocks, items, mobs and more game modes to bring it closer to the Java Edition. As the Pocket Edition development team works closely, often blocks released on the Java Edition are released around the same time for Pocket Edition. Certain features were also tested on Pocket Edition before their Java releases, such as beetroots and their related items, and also block models.
Two other versions of Minecraft that are based on the Bedrock codebase, but separate from Bedrock Edition, were also released during this period. Pi Edition is a free and discontinued version of Minecraft for the Raspberry Pi, which was based on an old alpha version of Bedrock. Minecraft Education was released for Windows and macOS on November 1, 2016.
From version 1.2.0, the Better Together Update, the Bedrock editions no longer have the "Edition" subtitle and are renamed to simply Minecraft.[44] A port of Bedrock Edition for Xbox One was released along with the update, and one for the Nintendo Switch was released digitally and physically on June 21, 2018.[45] PlayStation 4 users received the Bedrock Edition with the 1.14.0 update on December 10, 2019.[46] Owners of the original Legacy Console Edition for these consoles are able to download the new version for free. In October 2020, the Gear VR and Windows 10 Mobile editions of the game were discontinued.[47] In June 2021, the Fire TV edition of the game was discontinued.[48]
Starting on November 22, 2013,[49] Mojang Studios began to publicly release testing versions of full updates to Android users who opt into the beta program, in order to get major feedback, especially for bug reporting. This enabled the official updates to be considerably more stable.
Versions from 0.8.0 to 0.12.1 required opting into a Google+ group to receive development builds. Players would then see development updates appear as normal updates in the Play Store. On July 17, 2015, the Google+ group was removed due to the amount of spam and advertisements that the group attracted.[50][51][52] On November 3, 2015, the PE Beta team published a dedicated blog[53] that was subsequently used for users to opt into the 0.13.0 beta program and to display changelogs for these development builds.
The Xbox Insider Hub app is used to opt into the beta program on Windows since July 31, 2017, and on Xbox One since August 24. Before the release of the Better Together Update, the Xbox One beta was available only to owners of the digital version of the original Xbox One Edition, and not owners of the disc version.
Starting on January 31, 2022, the beta program was expanded to other platforms, starting with iOS and iPadOS, with Minecraft Preview.[54] The previous beta program through Xbox Insider Hub has been phased out and replaced by Minecraft Preview.
Players can also test unfinished or work-in-progress features using Experimental Gameplay, a toggle that can be turned on through world settings, but once on, it cannot be turned off again in that world.
Although all Bedrock editions are nearly identical, the price[note 1] varies depending on the platform. The Android, iOS/iPadOS, and Fire versions cost US$6.99 (6.99), while the ChromeOS, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 versions cost US$19.99 (19.99, 16.74, and 12.99 respectively). The Windows and Nintendo Switch versions are the most expensive, both costing US$29.99 (24.99 and 19.99 respectively), though the Windows version includes Java Edition and the Nintendo Switch version includes some DLC. DLC purchased from the Marketplace on one platform is usable on all other platforms, but the game itself is sold separately on each platform. Xbox achievements are not shared between platforms and buying the game on one of these platforms does not get the game on the others. The Xbox One and Windows versions are also playable to Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC Game Pass subscribers respectively, with both versions playable to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.[55][31] The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions are playable on the Xbox Series XS and PlayStation 5 respectively via backward compatibility.[31][56] As with all other versions of Minecraft, updates are free of charge. On Windows, the game can be launched via the Minecraft Launcher.
As of December 2013, Pocket Edition (the only Bedrock Codebase edition at the time) had sold 16.5 million copies, while at the same time, the Java Edition had sold 13 million. These calculations came out after the 0.8.0 update.[57] This was considered a huge success, with Pocket Edition outselling both Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition, despite being considered to be the least-developed at the time.
There are several features in Bedrock Edition that are exclusive to certain platforms due to capability restrictions on different platforms. Here is a table of the features that are available only on certain platforms.
Pocket Edition was initially launched exclusively for the Xperia Play on Google Play[10] for US$6.99 on August 16, 2011. It was later released for other Android devices on October 7, 2011,[24] and iOS on November 17, 2011.[25] On September 13, 2012, the Pocket Edition was made available for purchase on the Amazon Appstore. Minecraft Pocket Edition Lite, which was essentially version 0.2.1 without world save functionality and had limited inventory items, was available until October 21, 2013. The Windows Phone 8.1 version was released on the Microsoft Store on December 10, 2014.[26] The Windows Phone 8.1 version (which also ran on Windows 10 Mobile) was discontinued after the release of v0.16.2 on November 18, 2016, and was later replaced by a release for Windows 10 Mobile only (which was free to owners of the previous Windows Phone 8.1 version) on February 22, 2017 starting with 1.0.3.[27] After the release of 1.0.0, Pocket Edition for Fire OS was no longer available for Fire TV, but the new, more expensive Fire TV Edition was free to its previous owners.
The objective of the game remains the same as its Java and Legacy Console editions counterparts, where players can build virtual realities in a sandbox-like environment. Like its counterparts, Pocket Edition also has survival elements present in other versions of the game such as brewing, hunger, and dimensions like the Nether and the End. The multiplayer mode is cross-platform compatible between all touch-screen devices capable of running Pocket Edition.[28]
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