Minecraft Xbox One Edition

In the four and half years since Markus 'Notch' Persson opened up the alpha for his crafting meets survival game, Minecraft has become one of the most popular indie games of all time. Not only has the game managed to set record-breaking sales since its official worldwide release in 2011, but the craze has also spread outside of the indie gaming community and spawned mobile versions, console ports, t-shirts, Halloween costumes, and more. With such a large fan base to support, it's no surprise that the developers at 4J Studios want to make the transition into the next generation of console gaming as convenient as possible for the Minecraft community.

Gamers who've spent any extended amount of time in the immersive world of blocks, creepers, and pick-axes are likely familiar with how much work players put into their Minecraft creations. The idea of leaving behind whatever castles, moats, and other creations we've built when we move on to next-gen consoles is a sad reality most Minecraft users have been preparing to face. According to a tweet from 4J Studios Twitter account, players transitioning from Xbox 360 to Xbox One may see their save states transfer to the next-gen port after all.

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The potential for save transfers comes as a bit of a surprise after Microsoft's Phil Spencer suggested that the bigger worlds in the next-gen version of the game might cause compatibility issues with the Xbox 360 save states. Initially, when the title was first announced, Spencer said that the Xbox One version would be a 'new product' and that previous saves would not be accessible on new consoles.

Spencer didn't rule out the possibility of save transfers when he revisited the issue back in June, but his statement did leave many Minecrafters hungry for more details. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but fans can rest a bit easier knowing that 4J Studios and Microsoft are still searching for a solution.

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If 4J and Microsoft find a solution and save files end up making their way to the Xbox One, the companies will likely have a new slew of questions to answer regarding skin and texture DLC packs that consumers have purchased and incorporated into their Xbox 360 games. It seems highly unlikely that the DLC packs will transfer over to the next-gen console, but if the save transfers are confirmed, there's no doubt that fans will have plenty of questions about what will and won't make it's way over to the Xbox One. More details will come out once we have official word on whether or not the save transfers will be available, so until then keep your fingers crossed.

Minecraft Horse Update

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Minecraft is currently available on Mac, PC, and Xbox 360. Future releases on PS3, PS4, PS Vita, and Xbox One have all been confirmed.

Follow Denny on Twitter @The_DFC.

Source: 4J Studios