Minecraft Pocket Edition and Windows 10 versions to get command blocks soon

Microsoft, thus far, has arguably walked a taut tightrope successfully when it comes to mixing ownership of the beloved Minecraft franchise with company-specific additions that have yet to draw the ire of devoted fans. Since the company purchased the popular open world coding hit two years ago, Microsoft has quietly been adding features to Minecraft while also subtly re-writing the base code the game runs on, from Java to the more Windows 10, Xbox, and PS4 friendly language of C.

With that said, Microsoft is also looking to bring even more of the functionality of the PC versions of Minecraft down to mobile. According to a report from Cnet, fans of Minecraft Pocket Edition, available for iOS, Android, and Windows 10 (Windows 10 Mobile), will soon be blessed with items called command blocks and “mods” to offer more extensive customization to the game on mobile devices.

Jens Bergensten, lead developer on Minecraft, spoke with Cnet recently. Bergensten detailed the changes planned for the mobile versions of Minecraft, including offering a similar level of flexibility PC gamers have been experiencing with Minecraft as portable devices assume more of a “commanding presence in our lives.”

Using command blocks, you can add new Minecraft rules that do things like teleport players to a different part of the virtual world, reward them with a powerful sword, confine them to a jail, summon a flying pig into existence and obliterate all dangerous zombies.”

As Microsoft continues to meld its cloud efforts with its unified experiences across Windows 10, Minecraft stands as the company’s shining example of what could be possible when developers fully realize the company’s efforts. From PC and mobile gaming to holographic and virtual-world interactions with HoloLens and the Oculus Rift, Minecraft is becoming one of Microsoft’s most varied experiences across its many hardware and software initiatives.