'Minecraft' Goes Holographic With Microsoft's Hololens VR Headset

Players of “Minecraft” already have multiple ways to play the game: PC, Mac OS X, mobile devices and tablets. But in the near future they could find themselves exploring the game universe virtually on their kitchen table with the help of Microsoft’s HoloLens.

Mojang -- the studio behind “Minecraft” -- demonstrated the game running on the holographic headset at Microsoft’s Xbox E3 press conference on Monday. The game can be played virtually on any wall, giving users a first person view similar to playing on other devices. But if they’re looking for a larger view of a “Minecraft” world, HoloLens wearers can also project the game onto a flat surface, such as a table. When that is done, the user is greeted with a birds-eye view of the game world akin to viewing a gigantic Lego brick creation -- without the need to clean it up after you’re done.

When using it in this view, HoloLens wearers can view any part of the “Minecraft” environment from far away or even scaled up and close up. And they can also mark parts of the map or even “play god” by sending down lightning strikes at different parts of the generated world.

Unfortunately, players looking to get their hands on HoloLens to play “Minecraft” will have to wait. It isn’t actually available for purchase and the company hasn’t announced an official launch date for the hardware. So for now, “Minecraft” just serves as one of many examples of what applications can be enabled with the Microsoft VR headset.